GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (CMC) — Two evacuation flights from Miami and Nicaragua were scheduled to depart the territory yesterday, in an effort to help work permit holders who have lost their jobs, return home.

Governor Martyn Roper who made the announcement earlier this week, also said that a World Atlantic Airlines flight will carry around 100 Cayman Islands residents back to the islands from the United States.

Those passengers will go straight into isolation facilities.

He also said that a separate Cayman Airways flight will evacuate work permit holders who need to go back to the US, but that flight will return empty in order to protect the crew.

In addition, flights to Canada are being arranged for next week and discussions are continuing regarding flights to Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

According to the governor, this will continue as long as there is a demand for flights.

The news came as six new COVID-19 cases were reported in the territory, and Premier Alden McLaughlin warned that a worst-case-scenario analysis had shown that up to 1,000 people in the territory could die from the virus.

However, he vowed that the Government would continue with strict curfew measures and other restrictions to keep the virus under control.

The premier said there could be no let-up in curfew measures, despite the ongoing economic hardship.

He added that the Government would not yield to pressure to reopen the economy, even though businesses continue to struggle.

He said that reopening the economy too early risked turning Cayman into a “mini New York” or a “mini Italy”.