An Easter warning to protect the environment has been issued as Cayman residents prepare to camp out on the beaches as part of the traditional holiday celebrations.
Camping without a permit is allowed five days before and after public holidays, but officials said other restrictions remained in force, including rules on fires.
Wilbur Welcome, the acting chief officer at the lands ministry, highlighted that turtle nesting season was coming up.
He said, “One of the main reasons we require permits for bonfires is to ensure that they are done in a safe manner, they are not affecting turtle nesting places.”
Welcome added that consultation on bonfire permits was carried out with the Department of the Environment and the National Conservation Council.
Welcome said, “Our message to campers is be respectful of each other, be mindful of the space you are in.
“Try to keep it as clean as possible, please clean up after yourself and, most important, enjoy this time together with family and friends.
“We know it’s a historic thing, camping throughout the Cayman Islands and that’s one of the large reasons we’ve been purchasing a lot of beach land.”
Hospital holiday hours
The Health Services Authority said there would be some changes to operating hours on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Accident and emergency services will be available around the clock as normal and the Urgent Care Clinic will be open between 11am and 8pm.
The Smith Road Medical Centre Pharmacy will be open from 9am to 5pm, but the Anthony S. Eden Hospital Pharmacy will be closed.
The Faith Hospital Pharmacy will run from 3pm to 4pm and all HSA district health centres and outpatient clinics in Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands will be closed. They will reopen on Tuesday, 22 April.
Trash collection
The Department of Environmental Health said there will be no garbage collection on Good Friday and landfills on all three islands will also be closed.
Domestic garbage collection will restart in previously uncollected areas on Saturday, 19 April and officials said people should secure their trash to take account of the delay.
Landfill sites will also reopen on Saturday. Operations at the George Town site will close at 1pm on Easter Monday, but the 24-hour drop-off point at the entrance to the landfill will be available for “small quantities” of household waste.
The landfill sites on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac will close at 4pm.
Handling services for derelict vehicles and bulk loads of scrap metal, which are handled by a contractor, will not resume until Tuesday.
