Archive for August 25th, 2014
Ebola an unlikely threat, Chikungunya contained
(CNS): Immigration staff and health officials are on alert for and ready to deal with anyone arriving in Cayman with Ebola but the threat from the deadly haemorrhagic disease is considered low. Cayman has few visitors from the West African region and despite being an infectious disease it is spread mostly through poor hygiene practices which officials said wouldn’t be an issue here. Anyone arriving from overseas who becomes ill on a plane or at the airport is as a matter of course quickly quarantined and treated according to best practice. Meanwhile, the regional outbreak of Chikungunya which is having more of an impact locally has been contained.
As a result of the work of the MRCU and the response from the public in keeping their yards free of standing water the numbers of the Aedes aegypti, which spreads the disease, are being kept down. There have been just five confirmed cases of the disease since the first report in June in Cayman. Although the hospital has sent around two dozen blood samples from patients suspected of having chikungunya for testing four cases with a travel history to endemic countries have been confirmed positive and only one patient with no travel history appeared to have contracted the disease locally.
The health minister urged the public to remain vigilant over standing water and to cover up and wear repellent and said that the public health department would continue to release the statistics related to suspected or confirmed cases though it has now been more than a month since any new cases were identified.
See the minister’s full statement about the disease threats below
Exposed garbage fueling fires
(CNS): With the two compactors owned by the department of environmental constantly undergoing maintenance and a new one not yet arrived the minister with responsibility for the George Town landfill said it was difficult for staff to prevent the ongoing fires. However, he said the team was working hard with the fire service to do the best they could until the new compactor, which is critical to managing the dump arrives. Osbourne Bodden said the department had the budget for fill to cover the garbage mound but it was the lack of a working compactor to push down the garbage before it is covered which was causing most of the problems and leaving the waste exposed to the elements.
“Right now we are managing operations there but the garbage is uncovered so there are a lot of things going on,” he said as he pointed to the summer heat adding to the chemical reactions and methane emissions making the area so combustible.
“We are working towards getting the existing compactors on their feet and a new one is on its way but the two we own have been broken and fixed, broken and fixed over and over,” he added.
The minister said without a working compactor the garbage can’t be compounded and then covered but he said it would not be long before the equipment was fully operational again and the team would be able to compress and cover the landfill and reduce the potential for fires.
“Right now we have large area of exposed landfill and it literally is playing with fire,” Bodden lamented. He said given the circumstances some six wells have now been dug at the site so the fire department has easy access to water at the site and staff are being exceptional vigilant watching for smouldering areas and catching fires early so they can be doused and controlled.
“We don’t like this but it’s what we are working with,” Bodden said on Friday following press briefing relating to Ebola and Chikungunya.
He said the process regarding the implementation of a national solid waste management solution was moving ahead in accordance with the law and the RFP for a consultant to produce the Outline Business Case was now closed and five bids had been received. The minister said one of those five would be chosen in the next few weeks and work would then begin on finding the best solution. He said the ministry was still on track for a working solution before the end of 2106 but as he has said many times there was nothing he could do to change the process set out in law.
With the solution still down the line he said the department was doing what it could to manage the situation.
Jennifer Ahearn the chief officer in the ministry said it was “a misconception that we are not doing anything” about managing the country’s waster problems until the new system is in place. “We are actively looking at what we can do now and have ordered new equipment. We are taking all the steps to do the best we can with what we have got even though procurement process is protracted.
Bodden also confirmed that the department has finally received two bids for the tyres currently stored at the landfill which were also the source of a serious fire earlier this year and discussions were on-going with the bidders.
OCC gets new 12 month contract
(CNS): The complaints commissioner who has been in the post since August 2010 has been reappointed for one year. Nicola Williams told CNS that she had recently been given the contract which will see her stay in the job until August next year. This watch-dog post which is an independent public sector role is usually given to the holder for five years and it is not clear why Williams was given a one year contract. However, CNS understands that no open competitive recruitment process was undertaken prior to Williams’ first five year contract coming to an end.
The office recently celebrated its ten year anniversary and Williams is just the second person to hold that post. During that time complaints departments have been established in all government authorities but the OCC still sees a significant number of people coming to them as their complaints have not been handled properly by the relevant government entity.
Williams has also conducted a small number of own motion reports since taking office including one which revealed the extent of pension delinquency, the failure of the public sector management to protect whistle blowers as well as problems with occupational health and safety.