Deyalsingh: UWI to study covid19 changes in Caricom

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh disclosed that the University of the West Indies (UWI) will be doing a study to determine whether covid19 has changed within the Caricom region. He made the disclosure at the virtual health news conference on Monday.

"The UWI when I met with them two Thursdays ago, they are now looking to undertake a study to see how the virus has changed, not only in TT, but for the Caricom region." Deyalsingh said it is public knowledge there has been an increase in covid19 deaths in the region.

"This is a Caricom thing. Not a Trinidad thing, not a Tobago thing, a Barbados thing, a Jamaica thing."

He said UWI's study will "see what is the exact feature of the virus circulating in the Caricom region now."

Deyalsingh said, "They have the machinery. They were supposed to acquire all the consumables. They will do it and as soon as they will have it, they will let us know."

On concerns raised by TT students studying at UWI's Cave Hil campus in Barbabdos about new covid19 protocols implemented by that country, Deyalsingh reiterated, "Each country has to evaluate its risk profile and we have absolutely no problem with Barbados implementing that measure."

Barbados now requires that people going to that country from Trinidad and Tobago must have a completed negative covid19 PCR test within 72 hours of departing TT.

For those students who want to return to Barbados, Deyalsingh said the ministry will do as much as humanly possible to help them. He said this could involve giving them priority at testing centres here "so that they can leave."

Asked about plans for the reopening of the new school term on Tuesday, Deyalsingh deferred those questions to Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly.

On whether people have accepted the Government's offer of free state quarantine if they cannot properly self-quarantine at home, Deyalsingh could not say how many people had accepted that offer since it was announced last week.

But he added, "It is an offer."

Deyalsingh also said it was important for the people of TT to understand that many countries which successfully handled the first wave of the pandemic are now "recording record numbers of new infections in the second wave."

He identified Germany, India, Argentina and France among those countries.

"This is nothing to celebrate but this is what is happening globally and regionally."