Khan: 'Tim having covid19 not a death knell'

FORMER UNC MP Dr Fuad Khan on Saturday said there was no reason for anyone to raise undue alarm over the fact that his former parliamentary colleague, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, has tested positive for covid19.

In a post on his Facebook page on August 20, Gopeesingh said, "I wish to confirm that I have tested positive for covid19, the results of which were communicated to me late last night."

He also said, "Under the existing health protocols and guidelines, I am currently in the State's medical care, where I am being very well managed by a frontline team of nurses, doctors and support staff, for which I am very grateful."

Commenting on Gopeesingh's status, Khan said, "Having the virus does not indicate that it's a death knell." He also said Gopeesingh is "not in any intensive care unit under a ventilator." Referring to Gopeesingh's comments about being under state-supervised quarantine, Khan said, "In a normal country, you will be self-quarantined at home, not in a medical institution."

According to Khan, "The people that go to medical institutions are those that are sick, who have a need for ventilators, who have a need and who may be dying and who need to be placed in intensive care."

He continued, "This craziness in this country where you have to go in a public institution, if you have positive covid results, makes absolutely no sense."

Referring to photos on social media of Gopeesingh being unmasked and surrounded by UNC supporters in a motorcade during the recent general election campaign, Khan said, " Tim walked around the place with no mask on or anything at all, we have what they call the need for herd immunity in this country." UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and former PNM minister Gary Hunt were in some of the photos that Gopeesingh appeared in.

According to Khan, "Because everybody has covid so far, it's just that they have not yet been tested." He claimed a hype is being made over Gopeesingh testing covid19 positive. Khan added that having covid19 or being a primary contact, "is the new fad."

Efforts to reach Persad-Bissessar and other top party officials about Gopeesingh's condition were unsuccessful. In a statement on August 21, the UNC said Persad-Bissessar was in good health and had not tested covid19 positive. The UNC also prayed for covid19 positive patients to have a speedy recovery.

On Friday, UNC Tunapuna candidate David Nakhid said covid19 should not be politicised, Caroni East MP-elect Dr Rishad Seecharen said Gopeesingh did not interact with constituents during the election period, as he was stationed in the Tunapuna constituency.

He could not say whether those Gopeesingh may have come into contact with during the campaign period should be isolating or testing. Gopeesingh is a former Caroni East MP.