The much-anticipated announcement paves the way for visitors to return to the islands

The Cayman Islands border will reopen on November 20, Premier Wayne Panton has announced.

At this time all quarantine requirements will be lifted for most vaccinated travellers entering the jurisdiction, as the island moves to Phase 4 of government’s reopening plan.

According to the Premier, Cayman was on the cusp of reaching the 80% vaccination target and he expects that threshold will be reached before November 20.

There are still several restrictions in place, including testing requirements for arriving passengers but the removal of quarantine is considered key to allowing tourism to resume. Children, who cannot be vaccinated will not be able to come to the islands without quarantining with Panton adamant that this is being kept under consideration.

The much-anticipated announcement made at a government press briefing on the weekend, paves the way for visitors to return to the islands. Premier Panton said Cayman was on the cusp of reaching the 80% vaccination target and he expects that threshold will be reached before November 20.

Reopening requirements

Panton added that the government was moving forward cautiously with the health of the community as the number one priority. He advised that vaccinated travellers from countries where at least 60% of the population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine would not be required to quarantine upon arrival in Cayman.

Also, passengers from countries with less than a 60% inoculation rate but who can provide electronically verifiable documentation that they had been vaccinated can also forego quarantine. The Cayman Premier explained that there would be a portal through which travellers can upload their vaccination documentation, which Customs and Border Control will review.

If approved, the travellers will be issued with a travel certification. The premier said more details of the specifics of the reopening plan would be released in the coming days.

Tourism Minister, Kenneth Bryan confirmed that visitors will still be required to show proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and proof of vaccination. There are now four airlines with confirmed routes to the Cayman Islands, namely, British Airways, JetBlue, Air Canada and Cayman Airways.

Bryan acknowledged that it had been a “long and difficult year” for tourism but highlighted the announcement of the reopening date and the return of commercial air services, which began last Saturday, as the beginning of the recovery.

As the tourism industry prepares for a “new reality of living with COVID”, he said vaccination levels in the industry were extremely high, mask mandates would be in place and that training was taking place to ensure safe interactions with visitors.

Health Ministry recruit more staff to help with the COVID-19 fight

For her part, Health Minister, Sabrina Turner disclosed that 29 additional staff had been hired to support the work of the Public Health Department. She also revealed a $1 million budget to help support people who suffer financially after being forced to isolate because of COVID.

Turner said various modelling exercises of a potential COVID outbreak indicated Cayman was well equipped with enough beds and ventilators as well as medical personnel. She added that her ministry was “poised, prepared and funded” to procure further resources in case of a “surge scenario.”

Turner highlighted the arrival of rapid lateral flow tests as a “game changer” that was already helping to reduce the number of people in quarantine when a positive case is identified noting that the Ministry of Education is in the process of implementing a policy for how the tests can be used to ensure continuity of learning.

Some 20,000 tests are being made available to schools with the Health Minister explaining that tests would be distributed free of charge and would be a useful tool in the community alongside mask wearing, contact tracing and, where necessary, quarantine requirements to prevent the spread of the virus.

Further details on how the tests will be used in the wider community are anticipated before reopening