GEORGE TOWN, The Cayman Islands--The British government is sending nine members of the armed forces and three other military officials to the Cayman Islands for an extended period. As he announced the arrival of this military team on Monday, Governor Martyn Roper said they were coming to support the territory during the COVID-19 pandemic and as we approach the hurricane season. He said they would be assisting with security, planning and logistics.
Although he said he did not have any major concerns about security here, which he described as stable, Roper said the arrival of this military delegation was “a welcome precautionary move so that we have some people from the UK here to assist us on security.” It also signalled political support from Britain for the territories, the governor added.
The armed forces and their civilian colleagues will arrive on the British Airways air-bridge charter next week, along with a small number of Caymanians who are still in the UK and wish to return home. Also on the flight will be a batch of extraction kits to help boost the coronavirus testing numbers here.
The flight will arrive Tuesday evening, April 28. The next day, Wednesday, it will leave with more people currently in the Cayman Islands who want to travel to the UK. Details of how people here can purchase tickets will be revealed in the coming days.
The governor said the military personnel and all returning residents arriving on this flight would be in quarantine for the first two weeks and would be working via Zoom meetings in order to familiarise themselves with officials here.
Roper said the decision by the UK to send this defence team was part of the UK’s response and commitment to the overseas territories. However, Cayman is only the second territory where the UK has confirmed it is sending a defence team, having sent an advisory team to the Turks and Caicos Islands earlier this month.
Asked exactly what the personnel will do once they are released from quarantine, the governor said they would help with planning, assessments, sourcing medical supplies and hurricane preparedness, as well as supporting Cayman’s new defence regiment by mentoring some of the recruits.
“So it’s simply a precaution to help make sure we can deal with any eventuality that we might face,” he added.
While potential security problems seem to be behind the arrival of this military team, over the last few weeks during his appearances at the daily briefings, Commissioner of Police (CoP) Derek Byrne has consistently stated that the crime situation in Cayman is very stable.
With the exception of a recent spate of commercial burglaries, for which a suspect has been arrested, CoP Byrne has also noted the general adherence to the curfews every night. The breach of soft curfew by five dirt bike riders during the first weekend of April, the “beach binge” on Good Friday and a cockfight ring bust last weekend are the worst of Cayman’s crimes over the last three weeks.
Even domestic violence, which has spiked in many other countries during lockdowns, has shown no increase here, which has surprised the officers at the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), who had prepared for a surge in this type of incident during curfews. ~ CaymanNewsService ~
