CMO: 59 patientsto be relocated

Covid19 patients who are recovering or in a stable condition are to be moved from the Couva Hospital to another isolated facility. At a press conference on Wednesday morning at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said 59 patients have shown mild to no symptoms and there are plans to test each patient twice before releasing those who have fully recovered.

He said the Ministry of Health was looking at alternative facilities to relocate these patients as soon as possible. The alternative facility will be “better suited for that category of patient” and only patients with medium or high levels of the virus will be kept at Couva.

“That particular group, we are looking at them for seven days to see if they get to the stage of no symptoms, and as soon as they do that, I have spoken to the director to test and see if they are negative. And if they are we will do a second swab.” This second swab will be done 24 hours after the test results from the first sample. If the results are negative the patients will be allowed to go home.

On Wednesday morning, in a regional news conference, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) executive director Joy St John said CARPHA had tested 929 cases regionally, between February and March. Of those, 553 samples came from TT.

The ministry reported five covid19 deaths, with one patient recovered and discharged, from 89 confirmed cases up to Wednesday morning. There are 75 patients at Couva and five patients at Caura Hospital. The CMO said those at Caura are in a stable condition.

There are 14 people in a high dependency unit – for patients who are between a critical and stable condition. Thirteen of these patients are stable and doctors are keeping a close eye on the fourteenth patient “to ensure they go to ICU, if and when that time comes,” Parasram said.

There are three patients in ICUs, one in Tobago and two at Couva. The Tobago patient in ICU is on a ventilator in a critical condition at the Scarborough General Hospital. In Couva, one patient is on a ventilator and the second patient is in a stable condition, he said. Twenty-two people remain isolated at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church camp at Balandra, Toco.

This group returned to TT on March 17 from a Caribbean cruise which reported covid19 cases. When the group arrived at the airport, they were immediately screened by public health officers after coming off a flight with no other passengers. They were taken to the quarantine facility accompanied by the police and defence force.

None of the passengers tested positive in the first test but two days later the Ministry of Health reported that 40 people had tested positive. Another six tested positive within the last two weeks and health officials are await the results of two more people from the group. Parasram said the two who have shown covid19 symptoms had been isolated.