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The Cayman Islands is now in Phase 4 of Border Reopening. Learn more.

 

GOV.KY

What Are The Rules?

Last Updated November 27, 2021, 6:01 AM

Regulations have been made by Cabinet under the Public Health Act (2021 Revision) for the prevention, control and suppression of COVID-19.

This page describes policies that are currently in effect and will be updated as they change. While some of this information is meant to assist with understanding the Regulations, the Regulations remain the authority on what persons should and should not do during this time.

Additional legislation, including Regulations that were previously in force, can be found in the Legislation Gazette Supplements. The "hard" curfew orders - which are no longer in effect on any of the Islands - were enacted under the Police Act (2021 Revision).

The latest update of regulations was on Friday, 26 November 2021 published here.

The Control of Covid-19 (Testing) (Amendment) Regulations, 2021 is in effect as of Friday, 26 November 2021. These are an amendment of regulation 4 of the Control of Covid-19 (Testing) Regulations, 2021.

The Control and Management of Covid-19 (No. 2) Regulations, 2021 is in effect as of Friday, 19 November 2021. 

The Control of Covid-19 (Travel) Regulations is in effect as of Saturday, 20 November 2021. On Friday, 26 November  2021 Cabinet issued the Control of Covid-19 (Travel) (Amendment)
Regulations, 2021.

The Control of Covid-19 (No. 3) Regulations, 2021,  Control And Management of COVID-19 Regulations, 2021 and The Control And Management COVID-19 (Amendment) Regulations 2021 have been repealed.

Government's Response To COVID-19

Anyone over the age of five must wear a mask or cloth face covering in a public place, including an educational institution, if you are unable to, or do not maintain a distance of six feet from every other person.

You do not have to wear a mask if:

  • you are unable to wear a mask or cloth face covering due to a medical condition or you are otherwise exempted by guidance
    provided by the Medical Officer of Health
  • you are sitting or eating, without talking
    • at your place of employment
    • at a desk, or at a table, at your educational institution
    • as a customer sitting at a table or counter inside of a bar or restaurant

Learn More

Businesses have the authority to require any person who visits their establishment to wear a mask and to refuse entry to any person who refuses to do so.

You are legally required to wear a mask or face covering in:

  • health care facilities
  • residential home care facilities
  • prisons or places of detention
  • airports
  • taxis or omnibuses
  • any other place specified by the Medical Officer of Health

When using a taxi, omnibus or school bus, the driver and all passengers must wear a mask or cloth face covering at all times.

No more than 100 people may gather in public indoors, and no more than 250 outdoors for a public meeting.

If people are gathering for the same activity in an indoors and outdoors setting, no more than 250 people can gather overall and at no more than 100 people can be in the indoor area of that public place.

A total of 500 people are allowed in a public place when the space is partitioned into two areas. Persons cannot move in-between areas, though. Limited to 250 in each partitioned area.

Public meeting limits do not include

  • people employed to be involved in the activity
  • the bride, bridegroom, official witnesses and the
    marriage officer at weddings
  • the parties to the intended civil
    partnership, official witnesses and the civil partnership officer at a civil partnership
  • up to six pallbearers, an officiant and essential mortuary staff at a funeral
  • people attending an education institution
  • emergency shelters (when being used in the event or aftermath of a threat or disaster)
  • churches when used for a religious service

These public gathering restrictions apply where people are meeting to engage in the same activity, not to customers of businesses or people attending their workplace. Churches that can hold more than 100 people are also exempt from the gathering restrictions, though the number of congregants must be restricted to allow for social distancing.

Restaurants and bars may offer indoor and outdoor services, provided that each table shall be at least six feet apart and servers and front of house staff shall wear masks or cloth face coverings while serving customer.

Social distancing and thorough attention to hygiene are the best form of defense against the transmission of COVID-19.

Businesses, offices and churches must restrict their numbers so that any one time so that each customer or congregant is able to distance himself or herself at least six feet from any other person.

You can rent scuba or snorkelling equipment  provided that the person renting the equipment:
  •  prior to renting any shared scuba or snorkelling equipment will register with the Department of Environmental Health, for the purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance with this regulation;
  •  the person shall ensure that all shared scuba and snorkelling equipment is cleaned each day using an agent approved for use against the virus by the Director of Environmental Health of the Department of Environmental Health;
  • where the person rents any shared scuba equipment to a customer, the person shall not rent the same shared scuba equipment to another customer until three days has elapsed; and
  •  the person shall comply with the written guidelines issued by the Director of Environmental Health of the Department of Environmental Health. 

An owner or operator of a business shall not use or permit the use of a hookah, shisha pipe or water pipe at the place of business.

The operator of any boat with a capacity over 40 people must ensure that the vessel has less than 100 people on board or 70% of its legal capacity (whichever is less).

You cannot operate or manoeuvre any boat so as to congregate or gather with any other person on any other boat or vessel where the gathering exceeds 100 people.

There are also certain areas that a person may only use for fishing. These include:

  • The area known as 60 Mile Bank, that is to say the area within 3 miles of Latitude 20° 0' 55.412" N Longitude 82° 2' 11.149" W;
  • The area known as Pickle Bank, that is to say the area within 20 miles of Latitude 20° 23' 40.210" N Longitude 80° 26' 37.769" W
  • The area known as 12 Mile Bank, that is to say the area within 5 miles of Latitude 19° 19' 48.192" N Longitude 81° 34' 55.724" W
  • The area known as Lawford’s Bank, that is to say the area within 10 miles of
    Latitude 19° 28' 10.8912" N Longitude 79° 7' 48.63" W
  • The area known as Fish Attracting Device (FAD), that is to say the area within 1 mile of Latitude 19° 44' 43.8" N Longitude 81° 19' 34.38" W

If you wish to fish in the above areas, you must make sure

  • that the operator of the boat has clearance to leave the waters issued
    by the Customs and Border Control Service
  • that the operator of the boat ensures the boat has no more than 25 people or its legal capacity on board at any time, whichever is lesser
  • that the people on board the boat return to the Islands no later than 48 hours after the beginning of the outward journey
  • that a person who used, or was on board, a boat—
    complies with the directions of the Medical Officer of Health with
    regard to isolation and any additional health monitoring for the purposes
    of preventing, controlling or suppressing the spread of the virus
  • that anyone who was on the boat and who shows respiratory symptoms or symptoms of the virus shall be
    managed at a place and in such manner as specified by the Medical Officer of Health, until the Medical Officer of Health determines that the person is not a health risk to the public; and where a person is directed by the Medical Officer of Health
  • that a person does not operate or manoeuvre a boat in the areas specified so as to congregate or gather with any other person on any other boat
    or vessel where the number of persons gathering exceeds 25 people
  • that the operator shall declare to the Medical Officer of Health if there was any person on board that operator’s boat, other than a person in respect of whom that operator received the clearance 

In the Cayman Islands restaurants and bars may offer indoor and outdoor services. 

If you are an establishment, institution, business, organisation and office, cinema, theatre or church, that can accommodate more than 100 people you must restrict the number of customers or congregants so that at any one time so that each customer or congregant is able to distance himself
or herself at least six feet from any other person in a different household.

Businesses have the authority to require any person who visits their establishment to wear a mask and to refuse entry to any person who refuses to do so.

Owners and operators are also reminded that restaurants and bars are only permitted to operate within the hours of operation permitted by the Liquor Licensing Law (2019 Revision), the Sunday Trading Law (2014 Revision) and the Trade and Business Licencing Law (2019 Revision). 

Sporting activities are allowed as long as:

  • If outdoors
    • the organiser of the sporting activity shall not permit more than 250 people at any time as spectators of or as participants in the relevant sporting activity
    • each spectator maintains a distance of six feet from every other
      person in a different household
  • If indoors in a gym, fitness centre or other indoor fitness area
    • the owner or operator of the gym, fitness centre or other indoor
      fitness area shall not permit more than 50% of the legal capacity at any time in the gym, fitness centre or other indoor fitness area, including
      employees, patrons, participants and spectators
    • anyone who is not employee and who enters the gym, fitness centre
      or other indoor fitness area must
      • have, at least fourteen days prior to the date of the sporting activity completed an approved vaccine course,
        proof of which must be submitted in the form of a vaccination certificate or
      • present the owner or operator with a medical
        certificate which shows that the person had a negative
        polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test of a sample from
        the upper airways, or a negative result of an approved
        test, no more than forty-eight hours prior to the date of
        the sporting activity and which specifies the name and
        address of the approved laboratory where the test was
        performed
    • each person in the gym, fitness centre or other indoor fitness area
      shall maintain a distance of six feet from every other person in a different household
Places not exempt from public meetings (like a private home), may allow up to 100 persons to gather indoors or 250 persons to gather outdoors for these activities.
 

Places exempt from public meetings must ensure that persons not residing in the same household distance at least 6ft away from any other person.

Churches with an indoor capacity of more than 100 persons can only exceed the 100 person limit if they can ensure persons not residing in the same household distance at 6ft away from any other person.

 
If the event location contains indoor and outdoor areas, then the gathering is capped at 250 and no more than 100  are allowed in an indoor area at any one time.
 
Persons NOT counted  in the public gathering limit for these activities:
    • Bride, groom, official witnesses and marriage officer
    • Persons entering into civil partnership, official witnesses and civil partnership officer
    • 6 pallbearers, officiant and essential mortuary staff

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General Penalties

There are various penalties for breaking the law. A full list can be found in the regulations themselves.

Learn more

Quarantine Breaches

If you breach quarantine you commit an offence. If you do this you could, on conviction, have to pay a $10,000 fine and serve two years imprisonment.

You can report breaches to Travel Cayman.

Report A Breach

 

 

See the National Policy for Lateral Flow Testing for full details the national policy for lateral flow testing in the Cayman Islands.

Click here 

Guidance for early childhood care and education (ECCE) centres, schools and post compulsory educational institutions in the Cayman Islands using lateral flow test (also known as antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests).

Click here

Guidance for parents/guardians on what to do when their child or someone in their household tests positive. 

Click here

 

 

You can travel to Little Cayman or Cayman Brac from Grand Cayman if you have evidence that you have had the COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before (all doses) and:

  • are not displaying symptoms of COVID-19, and
  • can provide the airline or Port Authority with a vaccination certificate

If you have not completed your COVID-19 vaccination course 14 days before travel and you are over the age of 5, you need to provide a negative PCR test for COVID-19 to the airline or a Customs and Border Control officer at the Port Authority no more than 48 hours before departing.

Read more

For full details on the Border Reopening Plan including travel policies, visit  this page. 

Isolation & Quarantine

Anyone who is advised to isolate by Public Health must do so.  Anyone who experiences COVID-19 symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath and fever should isolate and consider taking a COVID-19 test. 

If you are isolating, you need to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people for a set period of time as advised by the Department of Public Health.

When advised by Public Health, all members of the household will be tested for COVID-19 and a negative test result is required in order for a quarantine to cease. 

Those who display symptoms of COVID-19 - including coughing, fever, tiredness, breathing difficulties, and loss of smell and taste - are also required to seek medical advice by contacting their General Practitioner or the 24-hour Flu Hotline on 1-800-534-8600 or 947-3077 (Digicel).

Email Flu Team

Members of the household should limit their contact and maintain a distance of at least six feet from the individual who is suspected of having COVID-19.

The following is required:

  • 10 days quarantine for unverified vaccinated travellers travelling from a country with a vaccination rate less than 60% for the first dose
  • 14 days quarantine for unvaccinated travellers
  • 14 days quarantine for travellers from Belgium, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Learn More

As of Thursday, 15 July, 2021, you cannot remove or pass, or permit the removal or passing of, any item from quarantine or isolation.

Learn More

You are not required to pay for quarantine in a Government facility if you provide evidence that the person travelling is:

  • a returning student;
  • travelling for the purposes of government business;
  • is travelling to represent the Islands in a sporting event as part of a national team
  • travelling with a medical certificate signed by a medical practitioner that the person travelled from Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac
    or Little Cayman in order to obtain medical services
  •  a parent, guardian or caregiver who provides evidence that
    the person travelled from Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac or Little
    Cayman for the purposes of taking the person’s child, or a child in the
    person’s care to —
    (i) an educational institution; or
    (ii) represent the Islands in a sporting event as part of a national team
  • somebody who has responsibility to take a child or an adult to obtain medical services

Cayman Islands Government, Government Admin Building, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Tel: 345 949 7900

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