Rowley negative for covid19, in isolation for contact tracing

FIVE months after testing positive for covid19, the Prime Minister has now been identified as a primary contact of an individual who tested positive for the virus.

A post on Dr Rowley’s Facebook page on Saturday said he has been isolated and tested in keeping with existing health protocols.

“The test result is negative but the Prime Minister is required to remain in isolation until a further test is conducted next week,” the post added.

It gave no further details.

Rowley, 71, received his first dose of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine on July 13 at the Diego Martin Health Centre and his second dose on August 6 at the Scarborough Health Centre, Scarborough.

News of the Prime Minister’s isolation came three days after Rowley revealed in the Parliament that a member of his Cabinet was isolated after testing positive for covid19.

At the start of Wednesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, Rowley said, “Today, one of my Cabinet colleagues is isolated for covid19. The whole family is now isolated. Covid19 is still with us.”

Rowley did not disclose the name of the minister.

But in a post on her Facebook page on Saturday, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Ayanna Webster-Roy confirmed she tested positive for covid19.

The Tobago East MP said she tested positive or the virus on September 14 even though she has been fully vaccinated since June. She said Saturday marked the fourth day of the family’s 20-day period of mandatory quarantine.

Webster-Roy said except for her second child, every other member of her household tested positive. The MP added when she received the results, she became fearful for her nine year-old son, who is the only non-vaccinated member of her family.

“On day four, we are nearly back to normal health. Apart from a mild fever during the initial phase, my son is symptom-free. My daughter and I both have some mild congestion still, but that is it!”

Up until news time, there was no word from the Government as to whether Rowley had been in direct contact with Webster-Roy. The Government also did not say whether the Parliament was officially informed of the Prime Minister’s isolation.

But Rowley chaired a three-day Cabinet retreat at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Blenheim, Tobago from September 1-3 to discuss covid19, the upcoming budget and other matters. He was also in the Parliament when it resumed Parliament after its July-August recess on September 10.

On April 6, Rowley had tested positive for covid19 in Tobago after developing flu-like symptoms the evening before. He was then put in isolation under medical supervision.

Rowley said, then, he felt he had been careful and was not sure where he contracted the virus.

In the period from April 6 to his recovery on April 26, the Office of the Prime Minister issued periodic statements saying he remained in isolation at the PM’s official home in Blenheim, under the care and supervision of the medical professionals from the Tobago Regional Health Authority.

During his illness, Rowley kept a busy schedule. He met virtually with US congresswoman Maxine Waters, reassigned Cabinet portfolios after the sudden death of former energy minister Franklin Khan and chaired an emergency meeting of Caricom heads on the La Soufriere volcanic eruption in St Vincent.

On January 10, Rowley was discharged from the West Shore Private Hospital in Cocorite, days after undergoing surgery to clear blocked arteries.

Communications Minister Symon De Nobriga could not be reached for comment as calls to his cellphone went answered.