Cayman to accept vaccination proof from more places

(CMR) As of Friday, 23 July 2021, the Cayman Islands Government has expanded the list of countries from which secure evidence of vaccination is accepted.

The Ministry of Health & Wellness, in partnership with the CIG’s Computer Services Department, has developed technological solutions which enable the scanning of QR codes to securely verify vaccination records from some issuers in North America, the European Union, and others.

QR codes are electronic data, similar to a barcode, which can be displayed on a smartphone or by presenting a physical paper copy. This verification solution has been approved by the Medical Officer of Health to ensure that all records can achieve the “secure verification” standard required for a reduced quarantine of five days when entering the Cayman Islands.

This process ensures the security of personal information, confirms the secure digital signature from a trusted authority, and minimizes the risk of fraud.

The expanded list of systems and countries from which vaccination records can be securely verified now includes:
-Issuers who use SMART Health Cards and are a part of the CommonTrust Network. This includes North American issuers, such as:
o Walmart Pharmacy
o Sam's Club Pharmacy
o State of California
o State of Louisiana
o UC San Diego Health
o CVS Health
o UC Health
-Vaccination records from the European Union Member States and other countries that meet the EU Digital COVID Certificate standard.

The CIG anticipates that the approved list will continue to grow as other vaccination issuers develop ways to produce securely verifiable vaccination records. Since 23 June 2021, the CIG has been able to securely verify vaccination certificates issued by the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) and vaccination records from the UK’s NHS app or an official National Health Service certificate of vaccination.

Minister for Health Hon. Sabrina Turner said, “I am extraordinarily proud of the implementation of this new solution to securely verify international vaccination records. The Cayman Islands Government continues to put the health and safety of our community first as we make the necessary provisions to reopen our borders. I thank the Civil Service and the HSA for their ongoing hard work to protect our people.”

The public is reminded that travelers are considered fully vaccinated if they have received a full course of an approved vaccination at least 14 days prior to their travel date. If the vaccination records meet the criteria for being securely verifiable, the traveler is only required to quarantine for five days once all members of the quarantine group also have securely verifiable vaccination records.

The Cayman Islands is currently in Phase One of the official border reopening plan, which allows for essential travel through repatriation flights. The transition between phases is to be determined by the Chief Medical Officer's assessment of the main travel markets and local community by prevalence rates, level of hospitalizations and death rates, level of vaccine rates, and presence of variants of concern. Limited reintroduction of tourism is anticipated in Phase Three.

For more information on securely verifiable vaccination records, please visit https://www.exploregov.ky/faqs/covid-19-travel-reopening#faq-secure-verification.