CMO: Health, National Security partnering on illegal immigrants

CHIEF Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said the Health Ministry is working very closely with the National Security Ministry, after reports that a citizen who is covid19-positive may have interacted with illegal immigrants.

At the virtual health news conference on Wednesday, Parasram said, "We will share with them what information we have, bearing in mind that those persons need to be contacted.

"We have to ringfence whoever it is, person or persons that have been in contact there."

Parasram explained, "The plausible argument is that they would have been positive prior. So there is an area of spread and there is a risk of spreading to more persons in the community."

He said through the National Security Ministry and other avenues, "We need to find out where those persons or person may be, find that indivdual, test, treat and then ringfence any other contacts that may occur."

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh apologised to Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith for being unable to take a call from him last weekend on covid19-related matters.

"We had several projects ongoing and I do apologise for not returning the commissioner's call."

Deyalsingh said the police are "included in all our discussions via the CMO's chairmanship of a Cabinet-appointed committee where all agencies responsible for the covid response meet virtually."

He added the police's views "are always considered and the lines of communications between myself and the commissioner via the Ministry of National Security, have always been open."

Deyalsingh also said the Education Ministry has not made any request to his ministry to change the SEA date from August 20 as a result of the new covid19 cases reported.