London, United Kingdom –The Cayman Islands Government Office in the UK (CIGOUK) continues to operate an efficient remote working model in the UK, which will remain in place until at least 15 June to be reassessed at that point.
Supporting Caymanians overseas has always been one of the key areas of activity for CIGO-UK and has been put into heightened focus as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
CIGOUK have five members on the team who are working remotely, conducting daily internal team zoom calls, answering consular services enquiries, assisting Caymanians in need via phone, email and other applications, and assisting with the coordination of the emergency airbridge flights between London and George Town.
There are a number of enquires received by the CIGOUK about travel back to Cayman in May and June, and there are also enquiries about travel from Cayman to London for students who are returning to University or boarding school in September.
Coordination of the emergency airbridge flights from the UK to the Cayman Islands includes working with The Cayman Islands Government, His Excellency the Governor and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK. This also entails coordinating enquiries, speaking individually to persons to ascertain their situation and need, keeping Caymanians updated on airbridge logistics, ensuring the NEOC and Governor’s Office are up to date with the numbers of Caymanians wishing to travel home and coordinating with British Airways in advance of the flight departure and on the day of departure, to ensure smooth passage of travellers.
In addition, CIGOUK staff remain available to assist during regular working hours and have launched a series of weekly zoom calls for Caymanians overseas who have remained in the UK, to keep them up to date, and feel closer to home. CIGOUK efforts to continue to build the network of Caymanians overseas also includes sharing information and advice from the Cayman Islands Government and close partnership with Cayman Connection UK and the Friends of Cayman group.
Cayman Islands Representative to the UK and Europe André Ebanks commented:
“As COVID-19 still presents the world with considerable challenges and uncertainty, we wish to reassure Caymanians overseas that we are working tirelessly to ensure that we have the right information and close connections with relevant government departments in the UK and in Cayman to assist those in need. We encourage Caymanians overseas to get in touch with us and to stay in touch through social media and through registration on our website. In partnership with our affiliate Cayman Connection UK, we arrange weekly Zoom calls (our ‘’Virtual Yard Meetings’’) on Wednesdays, now at 5pm UK time, for anyone to join and share their experiences. We are also moving towards business as usual as much as possible by reinvigorating our public affairs activities with relevant international public and private sector stakeholders.”