Cayman COVID-19 Reporting Shifts to Match International Practice

14 January 2022, 05:12 AM

Covid 19

Public Health has shifted from daily reporting of COVID-19 statistics to weekly after an assessment led by interim Chief Medical Officer Dr. Autilia Newton and visiting advisors from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in early December 2021.

Going forward with immediate effect from Wednesday, 19 January, the report will document an epidemiological week, from Saturday to Saturday, as per international standards.

Alongside data and rates, there will be some graphs, which will help to visualise the data and rates and make it easier to understand the changes, developments and overall trends of the epidemic in Cayman

The new weekly publication will also allow key messages to the public to be more meaningful, and, hopefully, more effective. Dr. Newton explained.

“While the community has grown accustomed to daily reports of COVID-19 information, we are now focusing on producing data that will better guide our management of the pandemic locally. By adjusting our scope, the Public Health and Ministry of Health teams will be able to offer a clearer picture of how COVID is impacting our community over a sustained period of time,” she added.

The Interim CMO thanked the two-person Public Health team that had steadily worked to compile the daily statistics since they began in 2020, and who will now be working on the weekly numbers.

While Public Health will report a reduced number of statistics as it prepares for its first weekly report, critical information will still be made available to the public as it occurs, through government communications channels.

(ENDS)