PM: TT must lower cases to 20 a day for regional travel

There will be no additional health restrictions placed on the people of TT this week says the Prime Minister.

Dr Rowley said although the level of infection was still high at 40 new cases a day, it was lower than before, so he would leave things as they were and make a determination as to any changes by October 11. In the meantime, he asked that people continue obeying the public health guidelines and flattening the curve.

“If we do not reverse our trend when we meet next week we should be able to take one or two decisions... (But) We are aiming to go back to some level of participation. I wouldn’t say normalcy at this point.”

He added that Caribbean leaders set 20 new daily infections as the target for countries to participate in the Caricom travel bubble. They believed the number was low enough that member states could “mix and mingle without resulting in an explosion.”

“If we get down to that target of 20 infections per day or less, then we can interact with the people of Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, and then have some type of economic contact and travel arrangements between us.”

He said Caricom members needed to get to a stage where they could have scheduled international flights.

“What was holding us back was, how do we have those flights coming in to our territory and not have that become a threat to our own interests in terms of spreading the virus?”

Considering the nature of the virus, issues under consideration included: Who should be tested? What type of testing should be used? What certification should be required? Should they be tested before they leave their country or on arrival? How long before arrival should they be tested?

Rowley said the Government continued to repatriate TT residents who were left outside when the border closed. However, having no scheduled flight complicated the process and even people who got exemptions were finding it difficult to return home. He also lamented that there were instances when the government made transport arrangements but when it was time to travel, people dropped out.

He added that the availability of transportation was one consideration when granting exemptions, as well as the capacity of the state quarantine system.

“We have reduced the requirements for that and we have increased the numbers of accommodation that is available for that and that allows us to bring in more people at any one time.”