(Trinidad Express) Nine has turned into 49. As of yesterday, this was the total number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases recorded in Trinidad and Tobago.
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh maintained that T&T was in a good place in treating with the COVID-19 pandemic but this could change in an instant if citizens do not follow the directives of the government.
Deyalsingh made the statement yesterday as he expressed frustration over people who had chosen to travel despite numerous warnings not to do so unless in an emergency.
The ministry confirmed 40 of the 68 people who were being quarantined at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church camp in Balandra have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in T&T to 49.
The 68 were passengers aboard a cruise ship in Guadeloupe earlier this month and became stranded when at least two people on board tested positive for the virus and the ship was denied entry to dock in Martinique.The group was brought back to Trinidad on Wednesday and taken into quarantine.
“We were advising people all through February and into March to avoid all non-essential travel and to travel for real emergencies, whether it was by sea or by air,” Deyalsingh recalled during a news conference at his Port of Spain office.
“I even advised people that I wouldn’t even take the risk of going to Tobago. We took a further decision to suspend the rest of the cruise-ship season which was to end on April 27. Some groups did not heed the warnings to behave in a particular way. A group of Trinidadians left this country to go on a cruise on the 5th of March. This was after a month of asking people to limit travel.”
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram said cruise ships are “breeding grounds” for infectious disease because of the restricted space and movement on board. So the decision was taken to quarantine all 68.
Some subsequently developed symptoms including sore throat, fever, runny nose, coughing and lethargy.
The group was tested and the results received on Friday night confirmed 40 positive cases.
The majority of the positive cases are elderly persons, Parasram said.
They were transferred to the Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility for treatment.
Parasram said they were all showing mild symptoms.
“They are generally not unwell, they have mild symptoms at this point but because they belong to a high-risk group, we thought it best that they go to a tertiary care facility. In the event that they develop worse symptoms, they are there already and we can manage them better.”
The CMO also said there was no risk of community spread from the group as they had been contained from the moment of their arrival in Trinidad.
“Having 40 cases doesn’t mean there is further risk of community transmission to the country,” he said. “They have been contained from day one. There is no change of risk between yesterday and today in terms of community spread to the people of Trinidad and Tobago because of the steps we have taken to safeguard you all from the start.”
Hotline
The remaining 28 people who tested negative for COVID-19 will remain at the Balandra facility which has now been “completely sanitised.”
If more develop symptoms, the 14-day quarantine period will be re-started.
“If they develop symptoms, they will be tested again and if, as we expect, more will become positive, we will transfer them to the necessary tertiary care facility … if anyone else develops symptoms, we have to re-start again.” The original nine people who tested positive are all improving, Parasram said, including a 66-year-old man who was in critical condition.
Parasram said they are well on their way to being discharged and will be once they are re-tested and results for COVID-19 are negative.
Deyalsingh announced a hotline for COVID-19 enquiries has been set up and can be accessed by dialling 877-WELL.
He warned this should only be used as a last resort to avoid over-burdening the system. For medical emergencies, people are advised to call 811.
Additionally, he said the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has agreed to fund 100 “house officers” who will be primarily deployed in the North West Regional Health Authority.
The Health Minister said T&T’s health system was coping better than many other countries.
“Health systems around the world are collapsing one by one. People in more developed countries with much bigger budgets that are much more sophisticated … their health systems are collapsing. We have been able to treat with this with absolutely no interruption to delivery of services in our healthcare network.”
He cautioned this could all come crashing down if people continue to behave irresponsibly and not practise social distancing.
He advised drivers transporting people in the cramped confines of a maxi or taxi to take steps to reduce the risk of transmission.
“If you have to transport people, do so without air conditioning and open your windows. Fresh circulating air in a maxi taxi is better at preventing community spread than air conditioning.”
He further advised the public to avoid travelling if they could.
Questioned about treatment for COVID-19, Deyalsingh said there was no vaccine or cure at this time. “From a policy perspective, there has been no drug that has been shown to be successful against COVID-19. The only silver bullet is societal responsibility at this point in time.”