A police officer stationed at Riverside Plaza in Port-of Spain and her sister, who works in the finance department of the T&T Police Service, have tested positive for COVID-19.
The development yesterday forced Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith to shut down both the Riverside Plaza, where the officer operates and the Police Administration Building, where the officer’s sister, a civilian, works, to allow the buildings to be sanitised. Griffith also closed the firearms section of the TTPS to the public with immediate effect.
Confirmation of the officer’s status came yesterday from Trinidad and Tobago Police Social and Welfare Association president Gideon Dickson, who said the officer had done the test since last Thursday but they only got confirmation yesterday.
“The information was slow in coming. Now that it has arrived we have to act on it,” Dickson said.
When Guardian Media arrived at Riverside Plaza yesterday, several officers were seen evacuating the building and those entering were dressed in full Personal Protective Equipment.
“Officers are anxious,” Dickson said.
Dickson said close to 400 officers work in Riverside Plaza between floors three to 16. The workspaces were sanitised yesterday and the officers are expected to return to work today, he said.
Guardian Media understands that the officer works in the Court and Records section. Dickson said they are currently compiling a contact tracing list and those who worked with the officer will be tested for COVID-19. The same procedure will be done for her sibling.
Dickson called on his colleagues and the public to continue to protect themselves by following the COVID guidelines.
“COVID is not beyond us … We could even be along the road of the second wave,” he said.
The situation again caused concern about the local spread of the virus in what is now being deemed a possible second wave.
In the last 24-hours, this country recorded six new COVID-19 cases and there have been 15 new cases in the past week, taking the total number of cases to 154.
This was also not the first time buildings had to be shut down and staff evacuated due to a COVID scare.
Last Wednesday, Pennywise Cosmetics Ltd’s branches on Charlotte Street and at the Long Circular Mall and the Ramish and Leela Supermarket in San Juan were forced to close after the primary contact of a COVID19 patient visited the businesses. The following day Republic Bank’s West Mall branch was closed after the child of an employee tested positive.
Maraval RC was also closed for sanitisation last week after a SEA pupil tested positive. That forced the school to be shut down and all of the boy’s classmates and teachers to be sent into self-quarantine. And on Monday, students at the Tacarigua Presbyterian school also had to undergo a similar exercise after the parent of a student there tested positive. That adult’s positive test also forced the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation to be closed for sanitisation.
Following the shutdown of the TTPS buildings yesterday morning, the St Augustine South Government School was also closed after a SEA student was exposed to one of the positive cases.