[UPDATED] Active covid19 cases drop below 1,000

Active covid19 cases continue to fall, as Government prepares to ramp up testing for the virus with the arrival of rapid test kits.

As of Saturday, the number of active covid19 cases dropped to below 1,000 for the first time in weeks, even as another death increased fatalities to 108.

In a release, the Health Ministry said the active cases now number 924, down from 1,106 reported on Friday.

Twenty four new positive cases were reported on Saturday, six of which are people who were recently repatriated. The 24 cases will be processed by county medical officers of health for either admission to hospital or to home-quarantine.

Thirty-four people were discharged from public health facilities and there are 136 recovered community cases. There are 64 people in hospital, 33 patients in step-down facilities, 140 people in state quarantine facilities, and 877 people in home self-isolation.

The total number of positive cases since March is 5,692 and there are now 4,610 recovered patients. The total number of people tested to date in the public sector stands at 33,083.

The latest update followed Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh's announcement that rapid antigen test kits for covid19 acquired through the Pan-American Health Organization arrived in TT on Wednesday. They will be deployed within the next two weeks.

Deyalsingh made the announcement during Saturday's media briefing on covid19. He said the test kits would enable the ministry to complete the decentralisation of testing in the country.

"Compared to what was available at the beginning of the pandemic, these tests are cheaper and faster. These cost US$6 each as opposed to US$100 for a PCR test."

He said two types of test kits were acquired. The first, Standard Q, requires a reader, and 150,000 test cartridges had been ordered. Fifteen readers have been acquired and will be distributed at sites throughout TT, as they are small enough to be placed in accident and emergency departments. A swab taken from the patient will be immersed in a neutralising buffer that kills any live virus and then rubbed on the cartridge, which is inserted into the machine which then gives a readout. The second, Standard F, are similar to pregnancy test cartridges and do not need a reader; 40,000 of these tests have been received. Each test takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes to complete.

Principal medical officer Dr Naresh Nandram said the tests were as accurate as the gold standard PCR tests currently being used. He said administering the antigen tests did not require as much training and specialised staff as the PCR tests.

"We have to make sure they will work in our context. While the manufacturers will have done their tests to determine how accurate the tests are, they will mostly have been doing testing on Caucasian populations. Our population is much more diverse and so the tests have to be validated using the methods CARPHA would have used to validate the PCR testing sites. We will initially have a limited rollout where as part of quality testing and control, people who are tested with the antigen kits will also be tested with the PCR test, to ensure the results are the same. This should take place over the next two weeks. The testing and validation will be carried out with the Caribbean Medlabs Foundation."

Nandram said testing will be rolled out in two phases, first at hospitals and then at health centres. In the first phase, testing will take place at one location in each RHA as follows: the Port of Spain General Hospital (NWRHA), the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (NCRHA), the San Fernando General Hospital (SWRHA), the Sangre Grande General Hospital (ERHA) and the Scarborough General Hospital (TRHA). In phase two, the testing will take place at the St James district health facility and the San Juan Health Centre (NWRHA), the Arouca and Chaguanas district health facilities (NCRHA), the Princes Town and Couva district health facilities (SWRHA), the Mayaro district health facility and the Sangre Grande enhanced health centre (ERHA), and the Old Regional Hospital Green Room and the Canaan health centre (TRHA).

Nandram said the antigen tests will not replace the PCR tests but as they are able to rapidly detect the presence of the virus, if a patient tests positive, they will be moved directly into the parallel health care system.

Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds responded to concerns about the H1N1 vaccines being distributed in the public and private health systems. He said the trivalent vaccine being used in the public healthcare system protected against two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B, while the quadrivalent vaccine being used in the private healthcare system protected against two strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B.

"We at the ministry have concerns about the quadrivalent vaccine, as there have been reports of adverse effects and reactions in other countries. In addition, the fourth strain of influenza in that vaccine is not in significant circulation in TT, so the risk of using the vaccine outweighs the benefits."

Deyalsingh said the numbers of H1N1 vaccines being given out has declined, which is worrying.

"Last week 6,963 vaccines were given out and this week 5,329 were given out. These numbers should be at around 10,000 per week, especially as people are repatriated and are coming in from countries where fall and winter are setting in. I think we as health officials need to change how we talk about the flu vaccine. It's not a yearly vaccine, it's a seasonal vaccine. The flu season runs from October of one year to May of the following year, so if you got a vaccine last year, it has expired and you need to get a new one."

Deyalsingh said there would be a meeting of shareholders in the Covax facility, the financing mechanism plan for the purchase of vaccines against covid19, on Monday.

The story has been updated with additional details. Below is the original story.

The number of active covid19 cases has dropped to below 1,000 for the first time in weeks. This, even as an another death increases fatalities to 108.

In a release, the Health Ministry on Saturday said the active cases now number 924, down from 1,106 reported on Friday.

Twenty four new positive cases were reported on Saturday, six of which are people who were recently repatriated. The 24 cases will be processed by county medical officers of health for either admission to hospital or to home-quarantine.

Thirty-four people were discharged from public health facilities and there are 136 recovered community cases. There are 64 people in hospital, 33 patients in step-down facilities, 140 people in state quarantine facilities, and 877 people in home self-isolation.

The total number of positive cases since March is 5,692 and there are now 4,610 recovered patients. The total number of people tested to date in the public sector stands at 33,083.