Dr Hinds on covid19 spike from vigils: Only time will tell

EPIDEMIOLOGIST Dr Avery Hinds said while he hopes there isn’t a spike in covid19 cases owing to recent social justice protests and vigils throughout the country, “only time will tell” if it will happen.

He was responding to questions from the media during the Health Ministry’s virtual press conference on Saturday morning.

Since the kidnapping and murder of 23-year-old Andrea Bharatt, there have been several nightly candlelight vigils, daily protests and marches in honour of her and all other women who were victims of gender-based violence in Trinidad and Tobago.

The current public health measures allow for groups of up to ten people to publicly gather. Last year, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh had suggested – for groups of more than ten who wished to do any public walks – to separate into several groups of ten, with each group distancing from the other.

Though these vigils are being done with good intentions, physical distancing was not seen at a number of them. But people have been wearing masks.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Deyalsingh urged those participating in these events to “gather responsibly."

"What I will urge people to do, and the organisers of the vigils, is just organise your vigils in a way that you have ten persons in any one vicinity. Just make sure they wear a mask, have hand sanitisers make sure they are not talking to each other without masks. Make sure they are distanced as far as possible.”

Asked by Sunday Newsday if the ministry is expecting an increase in cases owing to these events, Hinds said it has noted the gatherings but hopes people have been taking the necessary precautions.

“…Although, it doesn’t always appear that way in the photos that have been taken.

“We do want to encourage everybody that is continuing to participate in activities along these lines to follow the guidelines even more closely.”

He added, “We are hoping we do not see an increase in transmission because of these gatherings, (but) only time will tell. We will be looking at the data to see whether there are increasing numbers as opposed to decreasing numbers in the wake of the activities."