(Trinidad Express) The Government will be stepping back from its repatriation efforts as the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the country continues to rise.
Speaking at a media conference in Port of Spain yesterday afternoon, National Security Minister Stuart Young indicated that as cases continue to rise, the parallel healthcare system which consists of state quarantine facilities and state supervised facilities has reached capacity. As a result, he said, efforts to return nationals outside of the borders will be lessened to avoid overwhelming the system.
“As you all were aware we have been saying consistently throughout that the number of reparations are dependent on two things, the state quarantine facilities and the state supervised quarantine facilities, as well as we never wanted that if there was a sudden spike, the parallel healthcare system would be overwhelmed. So, we are at that point now.”
“You would have heard the CMO say that we are going to be using Debe, as well as Tacarigua and some of these other facilities which we were using as quarantine facilities as step down facilities for those who are mildly affected with positive cases. We are continuing to manage these measures and to make sure our healthcare system can image the positive cases. So right now, we are going to step back a little bit from the granting of exemptions,” he said.
While these repatriations will decrease, he said, they will continue on a managed basis prioritizing the elderly, the ailing and those with young children. He added that the Ministry of National Security has noted an increase in the number of requests for repatriation in recent weeks. This rise he attributed to Trinidadians stationed abroad who have been living in these countries but have decided to return. Persons who left for temporary visits, he said, would be given first preference.
“We will utilize the space we can with close consultation with the Ministry of Health to make sure the system is not overwhelmed. No system, either the quarantine or the ability to provide the parallel healthcare system. I had a meeting with the exemption team with the Ministry of National security since last week Monday and one was yesterday and I was actually quite surprised that some of the numbers have risen. From Canada, from the UK because we have done some clearing, we have done fights and exemptions and so on.”
“What it indicated to me it actually confirmed is that you have people who have been living abroad and now want to pack up their lives there either in the short term of the long term and come back. We will continue to use our priority system meaning, those who went out for temporary vacations and those types of things they will be prioritized, the elderly, the sick and those with small children that will continue. But we will have to manage it carefully,” he said.
Additionally, he said that those who are in Trinidad but wish to leave will be free to do so. Students who are concerned about returning to institutions in the United States and otherwise will be offered flights to these places. However, the aircraft used to facilitate this, he said, will return empty.
“As we have always said the closure of the borders is to protect the population here in Trinidad and that is what we will continue to do. Anyone who wants to leave Trinidad and Tobago is free to leave. One of the issues people have been having is the modality of leaving as there are still no commercial flights. To those students who want to leave because there are anxious parents messaging me, we are going to put on some flights for them to leave for them to get to points of transportation either in the United States, maybe even to Barbados. Of course, flights are now probably going to have to return empty at this stage until we can manage to take people into our quarantine facilities. Everyone who wants to leave is going to be permitted to leave,” he said.
