(UPDATED) President's unvaccinated security detail told: Keep your distance

PRESIDENT Paula-Mae Weekes is taking all precautions to protect herself and her elderly mother from the covid19 virus.

She has even gone as far as requesting that unvaccinated members of her security detail should not be permitted in close proximity to her or 92-year-old Phyllis Weekes.

Newsday was told that all unvaccinated workers were being transferred from President’s House. When contacted, communications adviser to the President Cheryl Lala explained the report, adding that the instruction was not given in a dogmatic manner.

She later added: “At no time has Her Excellency spoken to any member of her security detail about staying away from her or her mother, nor has she had any conversation with any of them about being vaccinated.”

She was expanding on her original explanation that: “In respect of two categories of workers on the compound who come into close contact with Her Excellency and her mother, Her Excellency has asked that if unvaccinated, they be rotated back to general service and be replaced with individuals who have been vaccinated.”

Lala said those who must in close to the 62-year-old Weekes and her mother should have had at least one shot of a covid19 vaccine.

But she also said, “Please also note that there are some members of both categories who have had covid19 and are not yet eligible for vaccination, and there has been no request to have them transferred out.”

Lala said for those who want to be vaccinated, arrangements are being made for them to do so.

Last September the President’s aide-de-camp tested positive for the virus and the President had to be tested. The result came back negative.

Health officials have repeatedly warned that the elderly are at greater risk of a negative outcome if they contract the virus.

Both Weekes and her mother received their first dose of a covid19 vaccine at the Diego Martin Health Centre on April 6 and received their second on June 7.

The President’s decision comes against the backdrop of discussions centred on mandatory vaccinations after Mario’s Pizzeria, which reopened on Monday after being closed for two months under covid19 restrictions, told workers they must vaccinate to return to work.

The company said unvaccinated workers will remain temporarily laid off while vaccinated workers can return to work. The policy was scrapped after an outcry from the public on social media.

Human resources and industrial relations expert Courtney McNish said the policy was reasonable and that it was well within the rights of the employer to make such a request.

There is no mandatory national covid19 vaccination policy.

At a webinar in February, president of the Industrial Court Deborah Thomas-Felix said an employer cannot unilaterally change its policies and mandate that workers are vaccinated.

She said the employer can, however, make changes to the terms and conditions for a new person seeking employment, and it was up to the person to decide whether they wanted to continue with their application or not.

Last week the Prime Minister dismissed concerns that mandatory covid19 vaccination was part of the Government’s plan.

Dr Rowley said then that making vaccination mandatory was not a novel idea unique to Trinidad and Tobago and the government has no intention to force anyone to take the jab. The only intention, if that decision is made, will be to protect human life, he said.

As of Wednesday at 4 pm, 279,335 people had received their first vaccine dose. Of these, 91,884 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, 187,291 received the Sinopharm vaccine, and 200 the Pfizer vaccine. The number of people who had received their second dose was 176,030.

This story was originally published with the headline "President orders unvaccinated security detail: Stay away from me" and has been adjusted to correct some details. See original post below.

PRESIDENT Paula-Mae Weekes is taking all precautions to protect herself and her elderly mother from the covid19 virus.

She has even gone as far as instructing unvaccinated members of her security detail to avoid being close to her or 92-year-old Phyllis Weekes.

Newsday was told that all unvaccinated workers were being transferred from President’s House. When contacted, communications adviser to the President Cheryl Lala confirmed the report but said the instruction was not given in a dogmatic manner.

“In respect of two categories of workers on the compound who come into close contact with Her Excellency and her mother, Her Excellency has asked that if unvaccinated, they be rotated back to general service and be replaced with individuals who have been vaccinated.”

Lala said those who must be in close proximity to the 62-year-old Weekes and her mother need to have had at least one shot of any vaccine approved for use in this country.

“Please also note that there are some members of both categories who have had covid19 and are not yet eligible for vaccination, and there has been no request to have them transferred out.”

Lala said for those who want to be vaccinated, arrangements are being made for them to do so.

Last September the President’s aide-de-camp tested positive for the virus and the President had to be tested. The result came back negative.

Health officials have repeatedly warned that the elderly are at greater risk of having a negative outcome if they contracted the virus.

Both Weekes and her mother received their first dose of a covid19 vaccine at the Diego Martin Health Centre on April 6. They received their second on June 7.

The President’s decision comes against the backdrop of discussions centred on mandatory vaccinations after Mario’s Pizzeria, which reopened on Monday after being closed for two months under covid19 restrictions, told workers they must vaccinate to return to work.

The company said unvaccinated workers will remain temporarily laid off while vaccinated workers can return to work. The policy was scrapped after an outcry from the public on social media.

Human resources and industrial relations expert Courtney McNish said the policy was reasonable and that it was well within the rights of the employer to make such a request.

There is no mandatory national covid19 vaccination policy.

At a webinar in February, president of the Industrial Court Deborah Thomas-Felix said an employer cannot unilaterally change its policies and mandate that workers are vaccinated.

She said the employer can, however, make changes to the terms and conditions for a new person seeking employment, and it was up to the person to decide whether they wanted to continue with their application or not.

Last week the Prime Minister dismissed concerns that mandatory covid19 vaccination was part of the Government’s plan.

Dr Rowley said then that making vaccination mandatory was not a novel idea unique to Trinidad and Tobago and the government has no intention to force anyone to take the jab. The only intention, if that decision is made, will be to protect human life, he said.

As of Wednesday at 4 pm, 279,335 people had received their first vaccine dose. Of these, 91,884 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, 187,291 received the Sinopharm vaccine, and 200 the Pfizer vaccine. The number of people who had received their second dose was 176,030.