Tropikist locked down; covid19-positive guest 'stable'

KINNESHA GEORGE-HARRY

Tropikist Beach Hotel & Resort will remain closed for the next 14 days.

This comes on the heels of a report of the recent covid19 positive case in Tobago, who was a guest there, having recently come from Trinidad.

On Saturday, a media release from the THA Division of Health, Wellness & Family Development confirmed that Tobago had recorded its first case in four months.

The release said the guest was tested in Trinidad as part of the ongoing community surveillance testing, but went to the hotel before receiving the results.

When contacted, a reservations clerk at the hotel told Newsday that they were “observing the 14 days' quarantine as stipulated by the Ministry of Health and bookings would resume in the next 14 days.”

In a press release, the hotel said it always had and will continue to maintain and practise proper safety measures and protocols according to WHO and CARPHA guidelines.

“At this time, we are co-operating fully with the Ministry of Health and have elevated our existing covid19 protocols to address this development."

It asked for guests with reservation to contact the hotel at (868)671-0631 or (868)671-9143 or e-mail tropikistbeachhotelresort@gmail.com.

“We want to urge our fellow citizens, let us continue to follow all safety guidelines and instructions from the Ministry of Health and relevant bodies as we continue to fight this virus,” the hotel said.

Last Saturday, in a statement, the division said while the patient was in Tobago the result returned positive and the patient was immediately isolated. The division said the individual is stable and being treated at the covid19 facility at Fort King George, Scarborough while contact tracing was ongoing. Primary contacts have also been quarantined and were being tested for covid19 as well.

Sources told Newsday that guests and staff at the hotel were put in quarantine, while police and members of the Defence Force kept guard at the entrance as health officials began doing swab tests.

The hotel told all guests in-house dining had been suspended until further notice, though guests could still have meals delivered to their rooms.

Speaking with Newsday on Sunday, Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine said the division was well prepared to handle any possible upsurge in covid19 patients in Tobago.

She said several systems and pathways had been established to manage any challenges arising from covid19: testing through a community surveillance approach at selected health facilities and treatment for those who are positive but well, or positive and not well.

Davidson-Celestine, who chairs Tobago’s covid19 taskforce, told Newsday a medical team is already taking swabs from people to better manage any challenges which may arise from the newest case.

DIQE CLOSED FOR SANITISATION

On Monday, the accounting, registry, main office and human resource departments of the THA Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and the Environment (DIQE) was closed for sanitisation related to a covid19 case.

A member of staff was said to be the secondary contact of an individual currently being monitored for exposure to the novel coronavirus, the division’s corporate communications unit said.

As a consequence, the division’s employees who have been in personal contact with the secondary contact are in self-isolation and in communication with the health authority. Normal work, according to the release, is expected to resume on Tuesday.