Young: No 'vaccine segregation' on flights

WHEN it comes to vaccination, all plane seats are equal and there will be no separation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Speaking at the launch of the TT Travel Pass platform on Wednesday, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young said there will be no segregation on flights, and vaccinated and unvaccinated people can travel together.

TT's border reopening policy says vaccinated non-nationals and both vaccinated and unvaccinated nationals are allowed into the country.

All unvaccinated nationals must enter through Piarco International Airport and be quarantined for 14 days at a state-supervised quarantine facility.

The vaccinated can enter through either Trinidad or Tobago.

All travellers must present a negative PCR test done no more than three days before they arrive.

Asked if the vaccine and unvaccinated will be separated on flights entering, Young said no.

"It is personal risk and personal decision you're taking. Understand, when you jump on a plane, you may be among unvaccinated persons, and that is a risk that you are taking. The airlines are not mandating even a section of the plane, because that was a conversation we had.

"At the end of the day, you take your own personal decision, you take the risk.

"That is why the world and TT is pushing towards vaccination."

Addressing the issue of unsupervised unvaccinated children entering, Young said they will have to be quarantined, but a parent or guardian can quarantine with them.

Unvaccinated children entering with their vaccinated parent or guardian will not have to go into quarantine, but must produce another PCR test result between three to five days after returning.

Young said from information provided by Caribbean Airlines, the number of bookings made so far is lower than the usual numbers for this time of the year, but it expects the numbers to increase.

He added that there will be a level of flight management to ensure that quarantine facilities are not overwhelmed, adding that there won’t be flights filled with unvaccinated nationals.

Also at the briefing was National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, who said a flight with capacity for 131 people had been chartered to bring home students and the Government will seek to ease their burden by allowing them free quarantine, if they are unvaccinated.

Young said there will be no means tests to determine how students will qualify, but Hinds said on the basis of the number of students who accessed the flight on Wednesday, the government did not foresee the offer being abused.