Health Minister: Trinidad and Tobago back to square one in covid19 battle

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh is concerned that Trinidad and Tobago’s covid19 fight has regressed, and the country is back to square one, given that the number of people hospitalised with covid19 is the highest it has been since May.

During Wednesday’s virtual covid19 media briefing, Deyalsingh said 473 people are hospitalised with covid19, which is the most since May 14, when 472 people were hospitalised.

But Deyalsingh said health officials were worried the country would have reached this point since September.

He said there was a steady decrease in hospitalisations after the May peak of 472, thanks to the government’s covid19 response, which included restrictions in movement and the state of emergency (SoE).

On July 18, 53 days after the peak, Deyalsingh said hospitalisations reached a low of 318 and then plateaued for 113 days.

While health officials were optimistic the plateau would transition into a decline, Deyalsingh said they became concerned that the numbers were heading in the wrong direction when there was a rise in hospitalisations in September.

He explained, “We came to the population on September 29, telling the population that we had observed a data point that, at that time, was not a trend but a slight uptick (in hospitalisations).

“We advised the country on September 29 that we are hoping this was not going to be a trend and that we can continue with the plateau.

“However, 59 days have passed and today (Wednesday), we are at 473 people in the public healthcare system.

"In other words, we are back to where we were in May. The figures represent a place we did not want to be, but we are there.”

Apart from urging the three Ws — wash your hands, wear your mask, and watch your distance – to prevent the current predicament, Deyalsingh said health officials have been pleading with people to get fully vaccinated.

But as of Tuesday night, Deyalsingh said, just 630,781 people were fully vaccinated, which only represented 45.1 per cent of the population. Once again, heh is lamenting that the country’s vaccination efforts have stalled with only 1,200 jabs being given a day.

Health Ministry data shows people who are not fully vaccinated accounted for 92.3 per cent (5,033 of 5,453) of patients entering the parallel healthcare system between July 22 and October 27.

Given vaccination efforts have stalled and restrictions are being rolled back, Deyalsingh said the country is now at a critical point in its covid19 fight.

He is now calling on people to take personal responsibility for their decisions, and, echoing the Prime Minister’s recent statements, said the government will not be considering future lockdowns.

“We simply ask the public (to understand that), post-tonight, when the SoE comes to an end, a lot of the responsibility in managing these hospital numbers...is going to rest with the population.

“As the Honourable Prime Minister indicated, the days for harsh lockdowns are basically over. The Government cannot continue to stifle the economy and have a collapsed economy which will lead to all sorts of other problems.”

Asked what restrictions will replace those facilitated by the SoE, Deyalsingh an updated copy of the public health regulations will be released on Wednesday night.

But regardless of what restrictions are set under the new public health regulations, he said personal responsibility will be the strongest tool in the fight against the current surge of covid19.