Ministers: Don't blame Venezuelans for covid19 spike

MINISTER of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh have said there is no evidence linking the recent upsurge in covid19 cases in this country to illegal immigrants.

Deyalsingh urged the public not to “get into xenophobia” and blame one particular group of people.

The two ministers were speaking at the Health Ministry’s virtual press conference on Wednesday morning.

A number of reporters asked if there was any possibility the increase in case numbers could be due to Venezuelans illegally entering the country.

Hinds said he was not “persuaded” that the upsurge is because of this, as many other countries in the world – which do not have issues with illegal immigration – have also been experiencing increases.

“You have countries like India, like the US, and Brazil in particular that are severely afflicted by spikes and phenomenal figures in that regard," he pointed out.

“We are not altogether persuaded that that is the case…I don’t know if that mini-thesis is accurate.”

And when it comes to the borders, he said, “We, with the resources we have and the laws we have to protect us in that regard, will continue to exert our best efforts to ensure all (who) come onto these shores come under controlled circumstances, so they would not pose this threat to TT.”

Deyalsingh said the spike is a result of the behaviour of TT citizens – not non-nationals.

“We keep pushing this narrative that we ought to blame others for our behaviour…When I visit the hospitals, when I get the data, it is Trinidadians and Tobagonians lying down in our beds.

“So I think it’s really unfortunate where we try to link the cases to Venezuelans, when the facts and the evidence do not let us reach that conclusion.”

He said at the hospitals with covid19 patients, there is only one Venezuelan.

He also asked, “If the borders were open, what would the effects have been?”