[UPDATED] PM appoints committee to examine re-opening borders

The Prime Minister has appointed a three-member Cabinet sub-committee to report to him in one week recommendations at re-opening the borders which have been closed since March 23.

The Minister of Health, the Attorney General and the National Security Minister will also look at the the removal of citizens having to apply for exemptions to return home and may be able to fly home once they get an available flight and will be subject to mandatory home quarantine for 14 days depending on spread of the virus in the country they were coming from.

Speaking at the media briefing on covid19 at the Scarborough library in Tobago, the Prime Minister said although the National Security Ministry had accelerated exemptions, the committee will look at opening the borders to nationals without the need for applying for an exemption.

The committee will meet on Sunday and report back to the country on how the new system will work in seven days.

“I am satisfied that the committee will report in a week and will maximize the inflow of people who want to come home. We will eliminate the exemption. It is a cautious reopening of our border.”

Dr Rowley said depending on where the returnees come from, they will be allowed to quarantine at home. Presently all returning nationals are mandated to undergo state quarantine either supervised (paid) or hospital. He added that the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Roshan Parasram, will determine, based on the country the returnees are coming from, where they will be quarantined.

Rowley said there is the technology now that will allow medical staff to monitor patients even though they are at home so that will be used so as to not overwhelm the health care system.

He added he spoke with the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali regarding travel between the two countries and is looking at expanding that to Barbados and Grenada and he hopes to report to the country by November 2 on this.

“The reason we are going that route is so that we can monitor who is coming in," Rowley said.

He added that the 35 people who tested positive out of 300 who returned last week meant that there still needed to be some level of security in place regarding the reopening of the borders.

National Security Minister Stuart Young said since the country closed its borders on March 23 and instituted an exemption process for returning nationals, 5,905 have applied to re-enter. He said 8,406 applied to leave the country.

Between August 31 and October 22, he said 2,573 applied to re-enter the country while 1,815 applied to leave the country. Young said so far the majority of those who were repatriated came from the US with 1,395 exemptions granted. From the UK, 258 exemptions were granted while 177 were granted to nationals returning from Canada.

CoP to work from home

Police Commissioner, Gary Griffith who is currently on vacation in Ireland, assured that he will be returning to TT next week as scheduled.

Earlier in the media briefing Rowley said that Ireland was placed on complete lockdown because increasing cases. Speaking to CNC3 on Saturday, Griffith said not only will he be returning, he will be working from home while under mandatory 14-day quarantine. Griffith left for Europe on October 16 for a medical check-up and to spend time with his wife and son in Ireland. Prior to his departure he was granted permission to re-enter TT.

In March, Griffith after returning from a Commissioners of Police conference in the UK, worked from the CoP's official residence in St James for two weeks as he took precautionary self-quarantine measures.

This story was originally published with the title "Rowley sets up committee to look at re-opening borders" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

A special committee involving the Minister of Health, the Attorney General and the National Security Minister is expected to report to the country in one week on the removal of an exemption to re-enter the country.

Speaking at the media briefing on covid19, the Prime Minister said although the National Security Ministry accelerated exemptions, the committee will look at opening the borders to nationals without the need for applying for an exemption. The committee will meet and report to the country on how the new system will work.

Dr Rowley said depending on where the returnee is coming from they will be allowed to quarantine at home. Presently all returning nationals are mandated to undergo state quarantine either supervised (paid) or at hospital. He added that the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Roshan Parasram, will determine, based on the country the returnees are coming from, where they will be quarantined.

Rowley said there is technology that allows medical staff to monitor patients even though they are at home, and it will be used so as to not overwhelm the health care system.

He said he spoke with the President of Guyana regarding travel between the two countries and is looking at expanding travel to Barbados and Grenada and hopes to report on this to the country by November 2.

TT closed its borders on March 21 and implemented an exemption process for returning nationals. While there are over 300,000 nationals outside of TT, only 5,905 have applied to be allowed re-entry.