MoH: Three latest covid19 cases may be false positives

New information on the three latest covid19 cases at the Balandra quarantine facility will be announced at a Ministry of Health media conference on Wednesday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has said.

He was responding to questions at the ministry's virtual press conference on Monday morning.

Asked whether the ministry was any closer to learning about how three people at Balandra contracted the virus after 24 days in isolation, Deyalsingh said while he could not determine how the infections took place after the 14-day incubation period, it was possible the results of the tests were false positives.

"Some early indications could be that it's a false positive but we don't know for certain as yet. I did confirm earlier that many countries around the world are getting small percentages of this. It's a new virus, we are part of a global pandemic and all the answers aren't in as yet."

Deyalsingh also said the government has been in contact with health agencies in the US, the UK and China to learn from the experiences of healthcare workers there how to treat with the virus.

He also said Cuban nurses being brought to TT were not to replace local healthcare staff but to provide specialised support in fields where there is a shortage of skilled professionals locally.

On Sunday Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram described the three most recent Balandra cases as "highly unusual" and said discussions on the epidemiology of the virus were held with virologists at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to better understand the nature of the infection.