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Cayman Islands Postal Service has said it will be suspending all international mail services for three weeks.

The suspension of mail services will run from Monday, 23rd March until Monday, 13th April, according to a Government Information Services statement.

The Postal Service assured that domestic mail will still move inter-island unless there is a further development in this regard.

“The CIPS is currently processing international mail as a matter of urgency, and ask customers to clear their post office boxes of notification slips to ensure that they collect outstanding parcels or registered mail by Friday, 20 March,” the statement said.

The suspension, the statement said, was due to precautionary measures being taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the restrictions on international flights.

On Monday Premier Alden McLaughlin announced air traffic closure to control and suppress the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Cayman.

The closure starts from 11:59pm on Sunday, 22 March, and covers both the Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman and the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport on Cayman Brac. Inter-island travel will be restricted to essential movement only. For all destinations except for the United Kingdom, inbound flights will operate for returning residents only from Thursday.

Cargo and courier flights will continue to keep the supply line to the islands open and air ambulance will be allowed to operate as normal.

So far there has only been one confirmed case of the virus, a 68-year-old Italian man who came of the Costa Luminosa cruise ship on 29 Feb. with a critical cardiac emergency. He died on Saturday at hospital. He had been in isolation since his arrival on island for medical care.

As of Tuesday, 20 tests conducted locally can back negative and 40 more were being tested.

Those 20 test results have been sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency for confirmation.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee has said that all the patients whose tests came back negative still remain in isolation as well as the other suspected cases. Of the 20 negative tests, 19 were staff members at Health City Cayman Islands, the hospital where the first COVID-19 patient was treated.

The Postal Service is suggesting customers delay any further internet orders from overseas vendors until air transportation to the Cayman Islands has returned to the normal level of service.

“Additionally, post offices will remain open to provide other counter services to the public and any changes will be communicated to the public,” the statement added.

Full coverage: Coronavirus