CMO: PCR test results must be in English

CHIEF Medical Officer Dr Roshan has said evidence of a PCR test in English is one of the requirements needed for entry into TT during the covid19 pandemic.

He gave this comment in response to a question about the national under-21 men's hockey team being denied entry into TT on Tuesday.

The team was unable to return from Chile, where they had participated in the Junior Pan Am Hockey Championships, because their PCR tests were in Spanish

At the virtual health news conference on Wednesday, Parasram said one of the requirements is that information on a PCR test, evidence of a PCR test or covid19 vaccination provided in another language "also has to be in English as part of the TT Pass."

The TTravel Pass is a document that can be printed or saved on a mobile device for use to board the flight and to enter into TT. It is not needed for people leaving TT.

Parasram said the National Security Ministry could speak in more detail about the situation affecting the hockey team.

He added, "When you generate policies, you have to look at the likelihood of something happening and the impact of those policies generally on infringement of movement and the movement of people."

He recalled that when the Prime Minister decided to reopen TT's borders on July 17, after they were closed last March to reduce the spread of covid19, several factors would have been considered before that decision was made.

Parsaram said it was shown that PCR tests taken 72 hours before entering TT significantly reduced the number of people returning who had covid19. He added this obtained for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

"Your policy has to be built on the back of evidence, and evidentary support suggested that 99 per cent of those people, vaccinated and unvaccinated, would have not had covid19, had they come into the country."

Parasram said the spread of covid19 in TT and the sub-region it forms part of are other important considerations.

"In TT, as you know, we have community spread, we have variants of concern, P1 being the most dominant. We have community spread at a high level, which we did not have in the early part of last year,"

He added that the extent to which a population is vaccinated against covid19 and the ease with which it can be vaccinated are critical data used to shape border-entry policies during the pandemic.

With only two out of 14,222 fully vaccinated people who entered TT since July 17 contracting covid19, Parasram said it is not necessary for such a small number of people to be sent into mandatory quarantine on arrival.

After reiterating that the side effects of covid19 vaccines on people (including children) are mild, Parasram said the ministry has not given clearance for any vaccine other than Pfizer to be used on children 12-18. He added that Sinopharm is seeking World Health Organization (WHO) approval for its vaccine to be used on 13-17-year-olds, and the ministry will make a decision based on whatever recommendations the WHO makes on covid19 vaccines.

He also said there is no evidence of any connection between covid19, covid19 vaccines and suicide. "The vaccine itself is not known to cause any sort of depressive thought or have that kind of effect, as far as I am aware. We have not noted any phenomenon like that in TT."