In a News Release on Thursday (30th June 2022), the Water and Sewerage Authority (the Authority) said vandals struck the Thicke Village Booster Station in Siparia overnight on Wednesday (29th June 2022), disabling the facility as the electrical cables were stolen.

The Authority said it “strongly condemns this senseless act of vandalism, which has left approximately 40,000 persons across parts of Siparia and Penal, without a pipe-borne water supply.”

The extent of the damages at the Booster Station located along Small Trace, Thicke Village Siparia, has been assessed. Preliminary reports indicate stolen and damaged electrical wiring, breach of one of the walls at the facility to gain entry to the building and a felled electrical pole.

The Authority advises affected customers that it may take up to forty-eight (48) hours to complete the extensive repair works, required to return the facility to operation.

Affected areas are as follows:

Quarry Road, along SS Erin Erin Road from Siparia Market to Fyzabad Field Trace, Santa Flora, Bacanno Hill, Skinner Trace, La Brea Trace, Sudama Village, along Guapo Road from Mulchan Trace to Fyzabad Junction, De Gannes Village, Syne Village, La Brea Trace, Katwaroo Trace, Ragoonanan Trace, Batchyia Trace, La Costena, Dil Mohammed, Bernnard Trace, Debedial Road.

Restoration of service to the affected areas above is expected to complete by 12pm on Saturday (2nd July 2022).

Customers are further advised that following the completion of these works, it may take twenty-four (24) hours for the supply to normalize to some affected areas.

Members of the public are encouraged to report all acts of vandalism or suspicious activity they observe at the Authority's installations to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the Authority's Customer Call Centre, toll free at 800-4420/800-4426.

The Authority apologizes for the inconvenience and thanks customers for their patience and understanding.

The Ministry of Health revealed in its daily COVID-19 update this afternoon (Thursday 30th June 2022) that there are 118 new COVID-19 cases in Trinidad and Tobago plus two (2) additional deaths. T&T’s total active positive cases is currently at 6,320.

The number of new cases represents a 49.37% increase in reported cases from yesterday. This is the eighth consecutive day in which cases have been below 200. Hospitalizations are at the lowest level for the month.

There have been 5,513 new cases and ninety-four (94) deaths in the month of June.

The Ministry reported seventy-nine (79) new cases yesterday plus four (4) more unfortunate death. The country’s death toll has increased to 4,011. As of 29th June 2022, 290 deaths were fully vaccinated persons while 3,329 deaths were not fully vaccinated. 390 deaths were recorded prior to 24th May 2021 (date at which the first group of vaccinated persons became fully vaccinated).

A total of 714,047 persons have been fully vaccinated, representing 51% of the population. Meanwhile, 685,953 persons are not fully vaccinated (only received a first dose or no doses), representing 49% of the population. 165,709 persons in total have taken a booster shot.

Based on data from 22nd July 2021 - 29th June 2022, 3,737 patients in the parallel healthcare system (Hospitals and step-down facilities) are fully vaccinated, representing 19.3%, while 15,615 are not fully vaccinated, representing 80.7%.

The Ministry states that the number of positive cases reported reflects the samples taken during a 2-day period between 28th - 29th June 2022 and not the last twenty-four (24) hours.

The Ministry also notes that there are currently 103 COVID-19 positive patients in total being treated at Hospitals and step-down facilities (down 14.88% from yesterday). Three (3) are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and one (1) is in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).

A Post-Cabinet Media Briefing was held at 2pm this afternoon (Thursday 30th June 2022) at the Diplomatic Centre in St. Ann’s to update the public on several decisions made by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

Below are the key points discussed today, courtesy of TTT Live Online:

- Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, Faris Al-Rawi, said all Corporations are in “Red Status” and on full alert to deal with flooding and landslips coming out of the adverse weather conditions this week.

- In preparation for Potential Tropical Cyclone Two this week, Minister Al-Rawi stated that:

• 56,000 sandbags were delivered via the fourteen (14) Regional Corporations.
• 19,000 sandbags were delivered at the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government.
• 56 loads of sand were delivered from the National Quarries Limited.

- Minister Al-Rawi noted that there were significant issues in the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, including four (4) landslips along the Paria Main Road, and river inundation at Tompire, Matura, and Grande Riviere.

- Minister Al-Rawi said assets were located on-site at the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation since Sunday (26th June 2022) and so far roadways have been cleared. Further watercourse management is underway with workers clearing debris from the rivers. The Matura river has also subsided.

- On the landslips along the North Coast, Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinanan, said all roads up to Matelot have been cleared. However, he warned that the soil is very saturated and more landslips are expected in the area in the coming days. Minister Sinanan confirmed that the Ministry’s Directors of Bridges and Landslips, Drainage, and Highways are present in the Matelot area today.

- The Las Cuevas slippage was cleared this morning.

- Minister of Public Utilities, Marvin Gonzales, said WASA has been on the job and as at 11am today, fifteen (15) out of the twenty-eight (28) Water Treatment Plants are fully in operation. All Plants, with the exception of Tompire and Matura, will be brought back into full operation by 6pm today. The Tompire and Matura Plants are expected to begin operations at Midnight.

- Acting Prime Minister, Colm Imbert, said he is pleased with the preparations from the Inter-Ministerial Team ahead of the passage of Potential Tropical Cyclone Two and that it could provide a blueprint for dealing with adverse weather.

​If you missed the Press Conference, you can watch it below in its entirety.

[Source: TTT Live Online]

In a Media Release, the Ministry of Education said it is pleased to announce that the results of the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) 2022 will be available to parents/guardians on Friday (1st July 2022) via the SEA Online Portal and paper-based at schools for this current Academic Year.

The Ministry is reminding parents/guardians that they can access their child/ward's results via the SEA Online Portal from 12:01am on Friday, on their laptop or any mobile device. Further information regarding SEA results and the SEA Online Portal can be found at https://www.moe.gov.tt/sea-2022.

The SEA Online Portal is an online platform that allows parents and guardians to access their child’s SEA Performance Assessment via a desktop, tablet or cell phone. To access the Student Performance Report, parents/guardians must have their child’s Student Number, Date of Birth as well as the Admissions Number, which is printed on the SEA Admissions Slip.

For paper-based results, the Ministry notes that parents/private candidates should collect their results from their respective school/district office from 10am on Friday. Parents/guardians are reminded that they are to adhere to all the necessary health and safety protocols and are asked to note that only one parent/guardian should visit the school or district office to collect the SEA results.

Parents/guardians are also reminded that the paper-based results slip must be collected for student placement in the secondary school system.

The Ministry said it wishes to “congratulate all students who wrote the SEA 2022 and looks forward to your successful transition into secondary school as you continue to access quality education.”

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS), a Tropical Wave located several hundred kilometres East of the Windward Islands, which is moving towards the West-Northwest, is expected to produce cloudy periods with some showers and isolated thunderstorms on Friday (1st July 2022) over T&T.

The Met Office says the chance of tropical cyclone formation over the next five (5) days remains low at this time.

In its 2pm Tropical Weather Outlook, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said, “A Tropical Wave located several hundred miles East of the Windward Islands is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Any development of this system should be slow to occur while the Wave moves West-Northwestward during the next day or two (2). The Wave is forecast to move over the Windward Islands on Friday and then over the Eastern Caribbean Sea by the weekend, where further development is unlikely due to unfavorable environmental conditions.”

• Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent.
• Formation chance through 5 days...low...10 percent.

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) announced earlier today that the Post-Cabinet Media Briefing will be held at 2pm this afternoon (Thursday 30th June 2022) at the Diplomatic Centre in St. Ann’s.

Watch the live stream of the Post-Cabinet Media Briefing below when it begins at 2pm, courtesy of TTT.

Prime Minister Keith Rowley is expected to return to Trinidad and Tobago today (Thursday 30th June 2022) after spending almost a month in Los Angeles, California. He left Trinidad on 6th June 2022 to attend the IX Summit of the Americas.

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) later said on 12th June 2022, that P.M Rowley would remain in California after leading a delegation to the Summit and that he was scheduled to undergo routine medical testing in the coming weeks, which included cardiac and prostate analysis.

A subsequent Facebook post from the OPM earlier this week on Tuesday (28th June 2022) stated, “Prime Minister Dr. the Hon Keith Rowley completed his final medical consultation in Los Angeles, California today. Dr. Rowley's medical test results were favourable. The Prime Minister is scheduled to return on Thursday 30th June 2022.”

The Prime Minister previously underwent a series of medical tests in 2019. It was reported at the time that those tests were necessary since a coronary issue was first discovered in 2016, in which a coronary scan showed he had small, soft plaque in one of his arteries. He also underwent a battery of tests in 2016 for prostate cancer and was later cleared by his Doctors.

Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert, has been acting as Prime Minister since 6th June 2022.

[Source: Trinidad Express]

In a Press Release on Friday (30th June 2022), the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) said it has completed its independent investigation into the fatal shooting of PC Clarence Gilkes in Richplain, Diego Martin, which took place on on 22nd April 2022.

The PCA advises that it has concluded that members of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) abused their power and deliberately mislead the Acting Commissioner of Police (CoP). The Authority said this incident “is one of the clearest examples of abuse of Police power that the PCA has investigated to date.”

According to the PCA, the evidence revealed that Officers of the TTPS shot at an unarmed civilian and, unfortunately, PC Clarence Gilkes became an unintended target. Further evidence, it says, revealed that Police Officers deliberately misled the Ag. CoP on the events that transpired. “The scientific evidence gathered by the PCA clearly demonstrates PC Gilkes was fatally shot by one of his fellow Officers.”

However, before this evidence became apparent, the PCA said Police Officers informed the Ag. CoP that an unarmed civilian would have shot PC Gilkes, which led to his death, and caused the Police Service to launch a manhunt in order to ‘deal with the persons responsible for this act.’

The PCA notes that it has made recommendations to both the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Office of the Ag. Commissioner of Police.

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

The Ministry of Works and Transport is advising the general public of the new dates for persons whose appointments were cancelled on Tuesday (28th June 2022) due to the passage of Potential Tropical Cyclone Two. Persons with previously booked appointments will now be accommodated during the period Thursday 30th June - Wednesday 6th July 2022, at a date and time convenient to you.

To complete a transaction, an individual MUST provide proof of their scheduled appointment for Tuesday (28th June 2022).

Additionally, persons are reminded that a proof of address (utility bill no older than three months) is required to complete a licensing transaction. The accepted forms of proof of address include a cable bill, home internet bill, electricity bill (T&TEC), OR water bill (WASA).

The Ministry said if a customer does not have a utility bill in their name, he or she is required to produce a letter of authorization from the owner of the property and a copy of their National Identification.

​For further information or inquiries, please contact the Corporate Communication Unit at 625-1225 Exts. 10813/10818 or via email at [email protected].

The Ministry apologizes for any inconvenience caused and thanks the general public for their continued co-operation.

The Ministry of Health revealed in its daily COVID-19 update this afternoon (Wednesday 29th June 2022) that there are seventy-nine (79) new COVID-19 cases in Trinidad and Tobago plus four (4) additional deaths. T&T’s total active positive cases is currently at 6,310. The number of new cases represents a 31.3% decrease in reported cases from yesterday.

​There have been 5,395 new cases and ninety-two (92) deaths so far in the month of June.

The Ministry reported 115 new cases yesterday plus one (1) more unfortunate death. The country’s death toll has increased to 4,009. As of 29th June 2022, 290 deaths were fully vaccinated persons while 3,329 deaths were not fully vaccinated. 390 deaths were recorded prior to 24th May 2021 (date at which the first group of vaccinated persons became fully vaccinated).

A total of 714,003 persons have been fully vaccinated, representing 51% of the population. Meanwhile, 685,997 persons are not fully vaccinated (only received a first dose or no doses), representing 49% of the population. 165,525 persons in total have taken a booster shot.

Based on data from 22nd July 2021 - 29th June 2022, 3,737 patients in the parallel healthcare system (Hospitals and step-down facilities) are fully vaccinated, representing 19.3%, while 15,615 are not fully vaccinated, representing 80.7%.

The Ministry states that the number of positive cases reported reflects the samples taken during a 2-day period between 27th - 28th June 2022 and not the last twenty-four (24) hours.

The Ministry also notes that there are currently 121 COVID-19 positive patients in total being treated at Hospitals and step-down facilities (up 3.42% from yesterday). Four (4) are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and one (1) is in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).