After Tobago Covid Breach: 204 Risks | Local News

SO virile at Covid-19 shows that a carrier from Trinidad who traveled to Tobago generated 204 key contacts.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram yesterday visited Tobago two weeks ago and had a total of 222 primary, secondary, and tertiary contacts with contact tracking of positive cases from Trinidad who visited a hotel in Store Bay. Revealed that I left.

Travelers were tested in Trinidad as contacts for another positive case, and despite being ordered to quarantine, were able to make a domestic trip to Tobago before the results were available.

The man was later found to be positive and closed the hotel in Tobago for several days.

At a virtual news conference delivering updates on local Covid-19, Mr Paraslam warned that the numbers represent a potential epidemic for Covid-19 by people who are not in compliance with health guidelines.

“As you know, there was a special case of going to a hotel in Tobago. From that one case, we identified 222 primary, secondary, and tertiary contacts,” Parasram said. “In one case there are 204 main contacts, so to give you an idea of ​​the potential spread of this virus from an individual who does not adhere to public health guidelines,” he said.

Quarantine form must be signed

The CMO advises those who were tested for self-isolation until a negative result was revealed, as they had previously neglected the advice, as did travelers in Tobago. To prevent this from happening again, county health officials (CMOHs) can issue swab-quarantined forms that violate their orders, which can result in “legal” repercussions.

“I called all CMOHs to everyone who was signed after the quarantine form was issued and then signed. So instead of advising to stay at home now, there is a quarantine order .”

“Of course, as you know if you have violated a quarantine order, there are certain legal elements that can be involved through the TTPS (Trinidad and Tobago Police Service).”

The CMO said the process changed as the country moved further into the chain of events.

He said that T&T is now at the stage of being given a quarantine order, which is a legal document for you to stay at home when you wipe with a swab, rather than being told to do so verbally .. A person determined to have violated the Public Health Ordinance may be subject to a $50,000 fine and up to 6 months in prison.

All measures together

The CMO has repeatedly said that hitting a pandemic requires several steps to be taken at the same time, such as wearing a mask, distance from the body, hand disinfection, and, importantly, staying home when ill. It was.

He said the new public health rules were in effect again as authorities had to roll back some restrictions to mitigate the large number of positive cases seen every day since last week.

“I have seen in Tobago the case I mentioned that people were not at home when they were sick. It significantly increases the risk of transmission of this disease,” says Paraslam. It was.

“Please don’t look at public health guidelines alone, so I’m not saying that if you wear a mask, you don’t have to disinfect or wash your hands and distances. They all come together. Are used as armor to fight the virus and have a synergistic effect on each other, which means that wearing a mask and socializing will significantly reduce your chances of getting this virus,” he added. ..

Pallaslam said T&T would move from “sporadic” to “cluster” and then “community would spread” within a “relatively” short time frame.

The protocol will have to be adapted accordingly, including the advice given to swabbed persons.

“For example, we swab you as a community sample, so you had a mild flu-like symptom and were swabbed. Stay home until you get a negative result. The advice was given, of course, after my doctor told me I shouldn’t leave home during that time, the advice wasn’t kept and people continued to move after being swabbed. “In the light of the case we raised and the other cases we found,” he said.

CMOs are encouraged to stay home for a while, even if a person tests negative. This is due to the unpredictable behavior of Covid-19 so far, and people sometimes show positive days and weeks after a negative declaration is made.