THA health secretary: Treat everyone as covid19-positive

THA Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine has called on Tobagonians to treat everyone as covid19-positive amid the spike in cases on the island.

On Tuesday, the division of health announced that the island has a record 42 new covid19 cases in 24 hours, which took the active case total to 132. There was also one covid19 death – the island's seventh.

In a response to the alarming situation, Davidson-Celestine said via WhatsApp, “Our covid19 positive cases have hit a new high and it is worrying that the numbers continue to rise.”

She said the division continues to do what must be done as a health system, but “we continue to depend on good public behaviour and judgment.

“As individuals, we must do more to beat this virus if we want to reclaim our lives. Isolate and vaccinate.”

She again implored people to not hold house limes.

“We need to understand that commingling of households is a super spreader. All it takes is one person to deliver covid19 to a household. While we understand the danger in crowds, we need to understand the greater danger of one-on-one spread.

"This is hard for all of us, we want to be with our loved ones but we can only do that in the long term – by being apart now.”

She said, the division has improved bed capacity and has been able to accommodate the new covid19 patients in official facilities. However, she said if the numbers keep spiralling, the island will hit capacity.

“This is not about luck – this is about responsibility. We have additional facilities being added. We keep asking the public to stop mixing households. People still seem to think that they can visit each other, even if it’s just one person. The one asymptomatic among us is among the most dangerous right now. Visiting even your neighbour or sibling or parents is out of the question. When we say isolate, we mean isolate – even at home with your family members. Treat everyone as covid19-positive.”

She added: “It’s our most vulnerable, elderly and persons with comorbidities that suffer more. The asymptomatic are the super spreaders. No one wants to be responsible for the death of a family member or a loved one. So do the right thing.”