(CMR) The government will not be re-opening Cayman's borders on September 1 it was confirmed late this evening. The potential border opening had left many anxious about what that meant for the Cayman Islands who have no experienced a month of no new COVID-19 cases.
The Cayman Islands Government has today announced after monitoring in the pandemic's development particularly in the United States it has made the decision to keep the borders closed until October 1. A further review will be undertaken at that time.
Cayman Airways will continue to operate on an ad hoc basis to offer repatriation flights. The air bridge between the UK and the Cayman Islands will also remain open, as this provides a vitally important link between the two countries.
With the start of the academic year in September, it is recognized that parents are keen to confirm travel plans to accompany students needing to travel overseas to continue their education. The Governor’s Office has confirmed that a British Airways flight will leave the Cayman Islands for London, Gatwick on 28 August, which is mainly for students and their parents.
The Governor’s Office is also in advanced discussions with British Airways to introduce a regular fortnightly service to London, Gatwick. More details will be forthcoming in the week.
Cayman Airways is also providing a series of repatriation flights to Miami, USA; Kingston, Jamaica and Le Ceiba, Honduras which are scheduled to depart the Cayman Islands on dates listed below. Although there are no restrictions on outbound travel from the Cayman Islands, non-essential travel is strongly discouraged, as options to return are limited and travelers may have to remain overseas longer than anticipated.
The following flights have confirmed thus far:
Miami, USA:
September 1, 4, 11, 18 and 25
Kingston, Jamaica:
September 2, 16 and 30
Le Ceiba, Honduras:
August 19 and September 23
The move comes are some Caribbean countries including the Bahamas have had to shut back down and close their borders after an influx of imported COVID-19 cases. Jamaican's government has also shared that they are contemplating closing their country's borders.
Despite the European Union banning Americans from traveling to their countries, they are also bracing for a second wave as some countries are seeing a resurgence of the coronavirus. This past week both Germany and France reported their highest numbers of new daily cases in months.
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