CoP: Police had to disperse crowds at vaccination sites

COMMISSIONER of Police Gary Griffith has said police in several divisions in Trinidad had to disperse thousands of people who assembled outside health centres and vaccination sites on Wednesday morning for covid19 vaccinations.

In a release on the police Facebook page, Griffith said from as early as 6 am, people, many of them elderly, began assembling outside the sites.

The vaccination rollout was being done on a first-come, first-served basis for those eligible, that is, over 60 or with non-communicable diseases.

By 9 am, he continued, videos and photographs revealed crowds of people waiting in long lines with absolutely no physical distancing.

There were hundreds in lines in areas such as Diego Martin, Carenage, Chaguanas, Ste Madeleine, La Horquetta and Arima.

The release said as Griffith became aware of the breakdown in covid19 public health protocols, he instructed officers to take charge of the situation and, if it became necessary, to shut down the sites for the day.

Police moved quickly and dispersed the large crowds outside various health centres.

Griffith, the release added, was to meet with officials from the Ministry of Health later on Wednesday to ensure a better system is put in place for the rest of the vaccine rollout.