Speaking at a press briefing on Friday afternoon, Premier Alden McLaughlin said the public gathering ban does not apply to businesses. But he said employers, including the government, are being encouraged to create work shifts if staff, for whatever reason, cannot work from home. The goal is to reduce the number of workers in any company being at the workplace at the same time.

The ban on gatherings of more than 50 people, which applies until further notice, applies to restaurants, bars, social meetings and churches. It does not apply to supermarkets, pharmacies or hospitals. The aim, the premier explained, is to limit the density of people together in one place, which will reduce the transmission rate.

Meanwhile, all schools, colleges and educational institutions, both private and public, will be closed from Monday until 27 April. All cruise ships will also be banned from Monday for sixty days, as the country goes into lockdown as it tries to contain the spread of COVID-19. McLaughlin said the travel ban is limited at the moment to countries with significant cases, such as Iran, Japan and Korea and the EU because Cayman has no trade considerations with these countries.

Travel bans on the UK, the US and Jamaica present more of a challenge because these are the main countries of trade for Cayman. But the premier said measures could be taken at the airport to restrict travellers from these countries next week.

In the light of the closure of Health City in East End, Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee explained that other health facilities are unlikely to shut down in the way that hospital has. He explained that the decision to close Health City was made based on a single patient testing positive because at that point there was still the possibility of containment. However, once cases begin emerging in the wider community, as is inevitable, there will be no point closing hospitals.

Dr Lee said Cayman will begin testing and getting immediate results here on Monday or Tuesday, as the equipment has now arrived. But he warned that testing will stop if the virus catches hold across the community because it will then be less relevant. He said that a team from Public Health England will return to Cayman on Monday to help the islands manage the containment and then mitigation measures.

In the meantime, the premier made it clear that government would introduce further radical, or even more draconian, measures to deal with what could be a serious health crisis for Cayman for as long as three months. “We are in completely uncharted territory,” he said, as he urged people to practice social distancing and do what they can to help curtail the potential spread.

Government will be keeping the public informed through its website and social media pages and plans to hold weekday daily press briefings in the short term.

Meanwhile, in addition to government’s official bans and closures, the private sector has also begun closing down, with tour operators cancelling their excursions. Companies, charities and associations are postponing all social events and some companies are creating ways for people to do business on line. The banks are also asking customers with loans to contact them to help manage possible financial difficulties over the coming months.