Ramdeen withdraws application to have covid19 patients discharged

Attorneys representing a woman and her two children who have been quarantined at the Caura hospital after testing positive for covid19, have withdrawn their application to have them discharged.

This happened hours after an amendment was made to the Public Health [2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)] (No 10) Regulations, 2020.

The new regulations empowers the Chief Medical Officer to restrain, segregate and isolate any person who has contracted or possibly been exposed to the virus, to a public hospital of a designated facility.

During a virtual hearing before High Court judge Justice Ricky Rahim, attorney Gerald Ramdeen told the court the decision was taken after his team was served with an affidavit from medical director of the Caura hospital Dr Michelle Trotman, who was represented by Senior Counsel Reginald Armour.

The woman had demanded that she and her children be released from quarantine since certain pre-conditions were not met in order to detain them under the Quarantine Act.

She and her family, including her husband, tested positive for covid19 and were taken to the Caura hospital on April 1. On Tuesday, attorneys for the woman and her children – ages nine and 19 ­– challenged the regulations under which they are being detained.

Although the woman’s husband was released on Tuesday, the woman and her children were not.

The woman and her family tested positive at the Mt Hope hospital. Arrangements were made for them to be taken to Caura. They were taken there on April 1 and the next day taken to the Couva hospital and back to Caura.

The attorneys said they were given a document to sign acknowledging that she would be quarantined for observation and treatment. The document was signed by a health officer on behalf of the quarantine authority, who is Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram. It also said the CMO had the authority under the Quarantine Act and its regulations, the Quarantine (Maritime) Regulations and the Maritime 9(Air) Regulations to order them quarantined.

Also representing the woman and her children were Dayadai Harripaul and Umesh Maharaj.

On Thursday, Ramdeen, who also represented Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne in a similar matter, also withdrew the application to have him released from the Caura hospital where he is being treated for covid19.

Alleyne made the application after he was told he was tested negative for the virus while at the hospital. He was then told he had tested positive again and was not being discharged.

Trotman explained in an affidavit that the discrepancy in results was because of a communication error.