Last updated Wednesday, 25 March 2020

This page is in the process of being updated to reflect all new and updated regulations, including those relating to Shelter in Place.

The Public Health (Prevention, Control and Suppression of COVID-19) Regulations, 2020 came into effect at 5:01 am on Saturday, 28 March and are currently set to expire at 5 am on Tuesday, 7 April. These regulations will be reviewed on Friday, 3 April and may be extended beyond the initial 10-day period.

Please review the "Policies in Action" section on our homepage for a summary of these new and updated regulations and read more here. 

The daily "hard" curfew that is currently in effect from 7 pm in the evening until 5 am in the morning is in addition to the Shelter in Place "soft" curfew and other regulations. This curfew is reviewed every 48 hours and will expire on Friday, 3 April unless it it is extended.

 

HEALTH

Effective Tuesday, 24 March, all public gatherings of 10 or more people are banned in the Cayman Islands. A further extension of this ban to more than 2 people is expected imminently.

This ban on public gatherings will remain in effect until an expiration date is specified by Cabinet.

Details

Leisure, recreational or spiritual activities organised by service clubs or faith-based/ community/ civic/ business organisations, sporting events, parades, concerts, conventions, fundraisers and so on are included in this public gathering ban. Mini-marts, gas stations and other retailers are also included, though employees are not included in the maximum number of persons allowed to gather.

Supermarkets, pharmacies, and health care facilities are exempt from this ban. Beaches are also not included in this ban. However, Public Health Officials are advising all persons to practice social distancing of at least six feet.

Workplaces and construction sites are not considered public gatherings. However, employers are encouraged to consider flexible working patterns and shift work. Businesses must also make arrangements for social distancing to prevent persons from coming within six feet of one another.

Penalties 

Anyone caught breaking the ban against public gatherings will be guilty of a criminal offence and face a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment of six months on summary conviction.

Background

Restrictions on public gatherings were first put in place effective Friday, 13 March and initially banned gatherings of 50 or more people.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Public Health (Control and Suppression of COVID-19) Regulations, 2020.

Related restrictions

See the Business Closures and Restrictions section below to understand additional restrictions on restaurants, bars, public swimming pools, salons, spas and other businesses.

Individuals arriving from overseas

All individuals arriving from anywhere overseas are required to self-isolate at home for 14 days whether they show any symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) or not. Those who do display symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) - including a cough, fever or shortness of breath - are also required to contact the 24-hour Flu Hotline on 1-800-534-8600 or 345-947-3077 or their General Practitioner to seek medical advice.

If a member of a household is required to self-isolate, due to any of the circumstances described above, everyone in the household is also required to self-isolate, even if they do not show symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Members of the household should limit their contact and maintain a 6-foot distance from the individual who is suspected of having coronavirus.

A central facility has been opened to accommodate returning students aged 18 and over so they can self-isolate away from their family, thus removing the need for the entire household to do so. Provisions are also in place for essential Government workers to be accommodated in a separate facility while the rest of their household is in isolation due to a returning student.

Additional guidance is provided for students arriving between 19-22 March under the Education section.

Individuals in the Cayman Islands

Anyone who believes they may have come in contact with someone who has coronavirus (COVID-19) should self-isolate at home for 14 days.

Anyone who shows symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) should self-isolate at home for 14 days. Symptoms include a cough, fever or shortness of breath.

In both cases, the individual should also contact the 24-hour Flu Hotline on 1-800-534-8600 or 345-947-3077 to inform the Health Services Authority and seek medical advice. Alternatively, they may also contact their General Practitioner via phone.

Details

For more information on self-isolation and what it requires, see our Frequently Asked Questions on Self-Isolation.

An extended curfew is currently in place for all three Islands and will run from 7 pm on Wednesday, 25 March 2020 until 5 am on Saturday, 28 March.

Details

Persons are required to remain in their homes and premises during these hours unless the Commissioner of Police has exempted them from doing so in writing.

Click here for a full list of organisations who may request exemption of specific essential employees and how to request an exemption.

The RCIPS will monitor the streets and use common sense and fairness in strict application of the order. Persons stopped will have their names and addresses taken with a view to prosecutions to proceed.

Penalties

Anyone who fails to comply with the curfew will be subject to arrest by the police without a warrant and on summary conviction will be liable to a fine of three thousand dollars or to imprisonment for one year, or to both.

Background

On Monday, 23 March His Excellency the Governor announced the imposition of a curfew throughout all three islands.

This curfew began as a daily curfew on Tuesday, 24 March, in effect from 9 pm in the evening until 5 am in the morning and in force for 10 days, reassessed by the Commissioner of Police every 48 hours. Later on Tuesday, 24 March, it was announced that the daily curfew hours would be from 7 pm in the evening until 5 am in the morning. On Wednesday, 25 March, the extended curfew was announced for a 58-hour period running 7 pm on Wednesday, 25 March through 5 am on Saturday, 28 March.

The curfew is being imposed under Section 49 of the Police Law (2017 Revision) and has been authorised after consultation with the National Hazard Management Executive, which includes the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition. Cabinet has also given its agreement.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman and Charles Kirkconnell International Airport in Cayman Brac will be closed to international passengers, including those flying private aircraft, from 11:59pm Sunday, 22 March through to 11:59pm Sunday, 12 April 2020.

During this period, inter-island travel will also be restricted. Flights from Grand Cayman into Cayman Brac and Little Cayman will only carry residents and essential persons, e.g. medical staff.

A travel helpline has been launched to offer advice and assistance to persons with an urgent and compassionate need to travel during the airport closure. If you are in an emergency situation and need to travel, please call the hotline on 244-3333.

Cargo and courier flights are unaffected by this temporary airport closure and air ambulances will also be allowed to operate as normal.

Passengers arriving before airport closure

For all destinations except for the United Kingdom, inbound flights from Thursday, 19 March 2020 operated for returning residents only.

All arriving passengers and their households are required to self-isolate for 14 days immediately on arrival. Read the Self-Isolation Guidance for more.

The Ministry of Health advises the public to follow the latest travel advice updates from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).    The public is advised that British Overseas Territories citizens will be provided the same help from the FCO when travelling outside the Overseas Territories as they would do to any other British national.

As of Thursday, 16 March 2020, only returning residents will be allowed into the Cayman Islands. All arriving passengers will be required to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival to the Cayman Islands.

If you have a cough, fever or shortness of breath, you are advised to call the 24-hour Flu Hotline on 1-800-534-8600 or 345-947-3077or Public Health Department on 244-2621 or 244-2561 or email flu@hsa.ky.  Do not go to the hospital, clinic or pharmacy.

 

To assist persons departing the Cayman Islands, the visitor extension process at Customs and Border Control has been temporarily varied for visitors and work permit holders.

  • Visitors whose permission to remain in the islands will expire between 22 March and 31 March 2020 will not be required to submit a Visitor Extension Application. Visitors will not have to present themselves to a Customs and Border Control Officer and no action will be taken for permission that expires between those dates.
  • Departing work permit holders whose permission to continue working will expire on or before 22 March 2020 are not required to appear before a Customs and Border Control Officer to submit a Visitor Extension Application. These persons can proceed with departing the Islands prior to airport closures at 11:59pm on Sunday, 22 March 2020.

From Friday, 20 to Sunday, 22 March 2020, Caymanians, residents, essential personnel and persons with connections to the Cayman Islands arriving on flights from the United Kingdom will be permitted to enter the Cayman Islands subject to strict 14-day isolation protocols.

Non-residents and tourists will not be permitted entry and should not be boarded on incoming flights.

Due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, tourists are not approved for landing in the Cayman Islands and tourists who remain in the Cayman Islands are encouraged to leave by Sunday, 22 March 2020.

Caymanians and residents will continue to arrive on international flights until the Owen Roberts International Airport closes on Sunday, 22 March 2020.

 

BUSINESS & COMMERCE

To offset the potential loss of business for public transport providers in the coming days, Government will provide a one-time stipend of $600 to be paid by 31 March 2020 for anyone who operates a 15-seater bus, taxi, tour bus, or dual taxi-tour bus and water sports. This would be to cover the closure period of the airport. Others could be added to the groups receiving stipends in the coming days.

Effective Sunday, 22 March 2020 at 11:59  pm:

  • The following are some of the types of establishments that will be closed:
    • bars
    • night clubs
    • gyms or indoor leisure facilities
    • spas, including mobile spas
    • public swimming pools
    • private strata pools
    • cinema, theatres, or concert halls
    • playgrounds
    • tourist attractions
    • museums or galleries
    • all categories of beauty salons, including mobile beauty salons
    • barbershops, including mobile barbershops
    • tattoo parlours
  • All restaurants are restricted to take out and delivery only.

A person who goes against these restrictions commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of one thousand dollars and to imprisonment for six months.

New Measures

These closures and restrictions come into force on Sunday 22 March 2020 at 11:59 pm for a period of fourteen (14) days, but they may be extended further at Cabinet's discretion. 

For more detailed information, please refer to the Public Health (Control and Suppression of COVID-19) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020.

 

Effective Monday, March 23, 2020, the Cayman Islands Centre for Business Development will begin providing support to small businesses across the Islands.

The Ministry of Commerce is working with the Chamber of Commerce, the Cayman Islands Small Business Association, and other groups to agree on tangible solutions to assist small and micro-sized enterprises severely impacted as a result of COVID-19 to retool and repurpose in this new environment.

The services being offered by the Centre for Business Development to the public will begin with a focus on business continuity training and coaching.

Small and medium-sized enterprises with an urgent need for assistance with cash flow management, business impact analysis or those that need to redesign or re-think their business models are urged to contact the Centre.

The Cayman Islands Centre for Business Development will offer a number of training and coaching sessions over the upcoming weeks. These sessions will include topics such Smart Measures for Business Continuity, Best Practices for Handling Cash Flow Crisis, Conducting a Business Impact Analysis, Business Model Innovation, Social Media Marketing, among other areas.

Through the training and coaching sessions, the Centre will also work with small businesses to them to be in a position to renegotiate existing loans with commercial banks or to request and access a period of moratorium on loans.

The business coaching sessions will be a pre-requisite for accessing renegotiated loans. The plan of assistance will also include the infusion of capital into the sector over which the Centre will provide monitoring oversight.

As a result of current circumstances surrounding the coronavirus, the staff members at the Centre will conduct meetings with clients by appointments, via telephone or virtually through video apps.

The Cayman Islands Centre for Business Development is located at Bay Town Plaza, 36 West Bay Road in Grand Cayman. Persons interested in making an appointment can call 244-3451 or 244-2498 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and 926-5771 between 5:00 p.m. to10:00 p.m.

 

 

VULNERABLE PEOPLE & CARERS

All caregivers must frequently wash their hands as well as the person they are caring for if they are coughing, sneezing, or have flu-like symptoms.

Wear a mask if your healthcare provider advises you to wear one.

Community district officers and several other agencies including the Department of Family and Children Services, Red Cross and ESO will be assisting with providing information to elderly persons living alone.

 

EDUCATION

Effective Monday, 16 March 2020, all schools, early childhood education centres, universities, tutoring centres, technical and vocational training centres, etc. will close and will remain closed until at least Monday, 27 April 2020.

The Ministry of Education will hold a meeting on Monday, 20 April to review the situation and see if institutions can re-open on Monday, 27 April or if an extension of closure is needed.

Following the school closure, the Needs Assessment Unit (NAU) will assist families whose children were receiving school lunch assistance through the NAU or Feed Our Future (FoF)

Caymanian families in need of assistance will receive a food stipend to ensure these children are adequately nourished during the period that schools are out. Families are also encouraged to use other community support that is being extended.

The NAU will be contacting families directly.

Students returning from overseas are required to self-isolate for 14 days. 

In order to cater to students arriving on island between Thursday, 19 March and Sunday, 22 March 2020, the Cayman Islands Government has operationalised two facilities – one for essential services workers to live out of home for 14 days and one for returning overseas students who need to self-isolate away from home.

Facility for Essential Services Workers

The essential services workers facility is for uniform and medical staff who have a student returning from overseas between Thursday, 19 March and Sunday 22 March that wants to self-isolate at home. This is to allow the worker to continue reporting for duty while their student is self-isolating at home. The essential services worker must leave home before the student arrives.

Facility for Returning Overseas Students

The student isolation facility is for students who have returned from overseas between Thursday, 19 March and Sunday, 22 March and choose to not self-isolate at home because they live with someone who is high risk.

Students must agree to take this option upon arrival at the Owen Roberts International Airport and take direct transport to the facility.

Please see the flowchart that helps students decide on self-isolation options. This has been shared online and is presented to arriving students at the airport.

 

SHIPPING AND TRANSPORT

International Mail

Due to precautionary measures being taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the restrictions on international flights, the Cayman Islands Postal Service (CIPS) will suspend all international mail services from Monday, 23 March 2020 until Monday, 13 April 2020. 

International mail is being processed as a matter of urgency, and the CIPS asks customers to clear their post office boxes of notification slips to ensure that they collect outstanding parcels or registered mail by Friday, 20 March 2020.   

Customers are urged to delay any further internet orders from overseas vendors until air transportation to the Cayman Islands has returned to the normal level of service.  

Domestic Mail

The Postal Service reiterates that domestic mail will still move inter-island unless there is further development in this regard.

Office Operations

Post offices will remain open to provide other counter services to the public and any changes will be communicated to the public.

HUMAN SERVICES

For persons seeking to access the Needs Assessment Unit's services as first-time clients, please fill out this pre-assessment form and email to NAUinfo@gov.ky.

As of Friday, 20 March 2020, a mental health hotline is operational 1-800-534-6463 (MIND). The mental health hotline is managed by Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and the Counselling Centre. It is active Monday – Friday from 9:00am – 5:00pm (opening hours/days to be reviewed and adjusted as needed).

For non-critical services provided by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), email dcfs@gov.ky or call 925-5120 or 926-6853 in Grand Cayman and 929-7932 in Cayman Brac Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm.

For critical services, including child protection and reporting child abuse, by the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (M.A.S.H), call 1-800-534-2273 or 945-0545 or email MASH@gov.ky.

For critical services support for protection of the elderly, email dcfselderlyservices@gov.ky.

For emergencies, dial 911.

DCFS has implemented social distancing protocols and a focus on essential services delivery, in the form of child protection and residential care.

  • All direct contact with clients is temporarily suspended. This includes home and facility visits along with supervised contact. Instead of direct contact, DCFS will maintain contact with clients where possible via telephone, WhatsApp video or Zoom.
  • Staff at the department’s main office at Apollo House East and the Cayman Brac office are working from home as of Wednesday, 25 March. The M.A.S.H. office at Anderson Square is closed to the public.
  • As of Thursday, 13 March, the DCFS residential homes are closed to all visitors. Persons wishing to speak with family members can contact the Golden Age Home at 949-1972, Maple House at 945-2615, and the Kirkconnell Community Care Centre at 948-2291.
  • Admissions to Caribbean Haven Residential Centre (CHRC) are suspended effective Tuesday, 13 March 2020. Presently there are 20 clients in residence across the male and female treatment programmes.
  • Intake services for The Counselling Centre (TCC) and the Family Resource Centre (FRC) will no longer be offered on a walk-in basis. These services will now be available by appointment only between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • DSC appreciates that COVID-19 related anxiety in the community requires the availability of its services in some form, so clients can contact TCC (949-8789) or FRC (949-0006)  
  • Group programmes have been suspended until further notice.
  • Residents of Cayman Brac will also be offered services over the telephone, as travel to the Brac has been suspended until further notice.

Consistent with the approach of the Cayman Islands Government, Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service (HMCIPS) has taken proactive steps to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to prisoners and staff. As of Tuesday, 17 March:

  • All routine visits to prisoners will be suspended while visits by legal representatives and police will be permitted albeit under restricted conditions.
  • Volunteers who would normally attend both prisons to deliver a range of services will no longer be permitted.

These restrictions will be reviewed after 30 days.

 Other internal restrictions will be introduced to reduce the flow of people entering the prison as the situation develops. This may include a revised staff attendance arrangement if it is deemed necessary.

Consideration will also be given to whether a reduced schedule of other internal programmes and services will be required.

 In addition to imposing restrictions aimed at limiting the movement of people, HMCIPS has already taken steps to enhance the existing levels of personal and environmental hygiene at all their sites.

Working closely with partners from the Health Services Authority, isolation areas at both Fairbanks and Northward have been identified and prepared should any suspected case emerge.

 

            He continued, “While the decision to cancel visits was entirely necessary, we do appreciate the importance of maintaining family contact and are considering a range of initiatives to ensure that we can continue to facilitate this as much as possible. This is a whole community issue and we are taking a whole community approach to dealing with it”.

Seafarers, Veterans & persons on Permanent Financial Assistance will be provided a one-time payment of $425 in recognition of the extra and anticipated expenses that are likely to be incurred by these individuals and their families in buying additional supplies due to the rapidly-evolving Coronavirus situation.

Contact the Department of Labour and Pensions (DLP) via email, post, or over the phone, including to submit complaints or documents.

If you need to speak with an officer for assistance with Labour or Pension enquiries, call 945-8960 or email dlp@gov.ky.

You may also wish to visit www.dlp.gov.ky to view Labour and Pensions legislation, FAQs, or use the Minimum Wage Calculator.

For your convenience, the Department also accepts anonymous reports via their Confidential Hotline at 945-3073.

MORE QUESTIONS

Have a look at available online resources such as www.hsa.ky  Contact your regular GP or the ‘flu hotline on 1 800 534 8600 or 947 3077 or email flu@hsa.ky.