Non-national is Trinidad and Tobago’s 11th confirmed covid19 delta variant case

Trinidad and Tobago now has 11 confirmed cases of the covid19 delta variant.

A media release from the Ministry of Health on Thursday morning reported that the person is a non-national who travelled from Mexico to Trinidad via Panama and was put in isolation when they tested positive for covid19.

The delta variant was confirmed via gene sequencing in a laboratory at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UWI.

The ministry said the required contact tracing and quarantine protocols were done.

The person will remain in isolation until the enhanced discharge criteria for people with covid19 variants of concern are met.

The World Health Organization says there have been confirmed cases of the delta variant of covid19 in 185 countries.

Research suggests the delta variant is more easily spread from person to person compared to older variants and is estimated to be two to four times more transmissible than the original Wuhan lineage of the virus.

There is also evidence to suggest that people who are infected with the delta variant are prone to an increased risk of severe illness and it may lead to an increase in cases of covid19 in younger age groups.