Cayman closed until at least September 1

[caydiver]

Sorry but our experience is different. My dive op is probably gone but there are two others in the household that work in finance and banking. One has been working from 6 am to about 9 pm, the other has had so many zoom conferences with solicitors and accountants on behalf of clients, he barely has time to shower. The big firms in the financial sector are working just as hard as ever. Even the Premier states the importance of that sector at the forefront of our economy. Those dealing with WPs and personal taxes will be out of luck. My husband does not go to his office but is working longer days than since we first moved here. His colleagues are slammed as well. Sadly my colleagues in tourism that are still here are probably not making the easiest choice unless they have saved for many rainy days. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[scubadada]

No, we don't. 70% of the GDP of the Cayman Islands is tourism. Attorneys are not opening up. My attorneys firm is shut down, and the Government has encouraged her to leave, like all of the other permit holders.

The little amounts of retail that will occur from locals that remain here is not enough to sustain the economy at all. On the recent DOT meeting this was agreed upon by all, even the Government DOT reps.

I'd encourage you to read the article I posted from CNS. He illustrates the point quite well on tourism, & finance.

If Cayman was opened today, where would the majority of your visitors be coming from? New York, New Jersey, California, my state of Pennsylvania? Can you afford to have asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic individuals from these areas come to the Caymans? This is particularly important given the inadequate testing in the US,

Many, many countries and regions are largely dependent on tourism for their economy. Some are even mainly dependent on scuba diving. Divetech is a good example. The major question is, can you open your county without doing more harm than good? The debate between public health and economic prosperity is going on every day in the US. I can only hope we do more good than harm, I am not optimistic

 

[Joneill]

I think the situation in Cayman is more akin to countries like New Zealand or Australia than the US. It is a small country with borders that can be closed. My understanding was that what they always meant here by control was to shut the disease down. It is a small community with many older people. They are not willing to put those people at risk. We have other things to fall back on aside from tourism and many of those people outside tourism are working The lawyers, accountants, and others connected to finance are very busy. Our retail is starting to open up. Sadly those involved with tourism are not going to see any relief before at least the end of the year. It is what it is and there are folks on both sides of the fence but just as difficult as this is since they said they were closing the ports, it seemed pretty obvious why. We are not alone in this. Look at many countries around the world who shut down It is not going to make everyone happy but many are very happy that we don’t have to count body bags unlike places like NY and the UK where so many travelers unknowingly infected thousands. We are not staying at home waiting for a vaccine, we are staying at hone waiting for the 1or less R Value.

The issue with waiting for a 1 or less R value is that the only way to change that is with behavioral changes or as immunity develops. By isolating, Cayman is doing nothing towards developing any broad immunity in the population - so what will be different in September or the end of year that would allow tourism to resume then? It would seem that they waiting for a vaccine, which is certainly their prerogative - i just hope the economic toll of that strategy is recoverable.

 

[Joneill]

If Cayman was opened today, where would the majority of your visitors be coming from? New York, New Jersey, California, my state of Pennsylvania? Can you afford to have asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic individuals from these areas come to the Caymans? This is particularly important given the inadequate testing in the US,

Many, many countries and regions are largely dependent on tourism for their economy. Some are even mainly dependent on scuba diving. Divetech is a good example. The major question is, can you open your county without doing more harm than good? The debate between public health and economic prosperity is going on every day in the US. I can only hope we do more good than harm, I am not optimistic

I don't disagree with the challenges to figuring out how to open but would say that, for many, it's not about economic prosperity - it's about economic survival! I fear that the long term toll of shutting down the world will have more significant, far reaching and long lasting impacts than the virus for most.

 

[scubadada]

I don't disagree with the challenges to figuring out how to open but would say that, for many, it's not about economic prosperity - it's about economic survival! I fear that the long term toll of shutting down the world will have more significant, far reaching and long lasting impacts than the virus for most.

And, how do you get around that, by sacrificing individuals, like we are doing in the US?

 

[Joneill]

And, how do you get around that, by sacrificing individuals, like we are doing in the US?

You will also be sacrificing individuals if you don't find a balanced way to get people back to being able to earn a living - I'm not saying it's easy, but keeping the world shutdown is not a tenable solution for any extended period of time. This virus will kill more people regardless of what we do - the best we can do is to try to minimize that number for at risk populations. However, it's going to have to be a balance to avoid more long lasting devastation for the vast majority of the rest of the population - thinking otherwise is being too idealistic in my opinion. Hard choices!

 

[scubadada]

You will also be sacrificing individuals if you don't find a balanced way to get people back to being able to earn a living - I'm not saying it's easy, but keeping the world shutdown is not a tenable solution for any extended period of time. This virus will kill more people regardless of what we do - the best we can do is to try to minimize that number for at risk populations. However, it's going to have to be a balance to avoid more long lasting devastation for the vast majority of the rest of the population - thinking otherwise is being too idealistic in my opinion. Hard choices!

And, what would be your plan for opening the Cayman Islands?

 

[Joneill]

And, what would be your plan for opening the Cayman Islands?

I don't have one - and it appears that they don't either. I'm also not telling them they should open - just talking about the consequences of extended isolation. However, I would imagine a plan would involve some level of testing, appropriate social distancing rules (with masks, etc.,) and be done in phases with tight controls to respond to changing conditions.

What is your plan to prevent an economic collapse from the massive job losses from an isolation approach? I don't really need an answer - just trying to convey there are complexities all around on this and the answers are not at the extremes!

 

[caydiver]

Sadly the bottom line is that we are all in a terrible situation that no one could have foreseen. There are pros and cons to every step. We are WP holders but can sustain as long as the financial industry holds. We have a wonderful dive customer leaving Friday. They were here when the airport shut and didn’t expect it to have stayed shut for so long. They have to leave to go back to family and life but are not looking forward to leaving as they feel safer here. Everyone has different priorities and needs but the one thing we all share is knowing just how much this sucks. There is no right or wrong and I guess if you really disagree with the way the place you are is handling the situation and you can go elsewhere, you at least have an option unlike millions of others.

 

[mi000ke]

I don't have one - and it appears that they don't either. I'm also not telling them they should open - just talking about the consequences of extended isolation. However, I would imagine a plan would involve some level of testing, appropriate social distancing rules (with masks, etc.,) and be done in phases with tight controls to respond to changing conditions.

just for the sake of providing accurate context, regardless of our own personal views as to heath vs economics, the CI government has developed a detailed planning document laying out 4 levels or phases to economic recovery. They have been extremely thoughtful, especially compared to my home country, which is why we are in no hurry to leave.

Additionally, the Premier has been very explicit to state (and passionately restated in his briefing yesterday ) that the government’s priority is health and life of the CI population. Not saying you have to agree, but the goals and plans are very explicit. Let’s hope they work, and that the Cayman Islands come back as strong as they were.

Meanwhile the GC beaches open on Saturday! Small positive steps.

Stay safe