- Prime Minister Keith Rowley announced that gatherings in public spaces will be rolled back from 25 persons to 10. However, the numbers for funerals, religious gatherings, and SEA classes, which are indoors, will not be affected by this change. Team sports can continue with spectators in groups of 10. Police will be called on to enforce the new Public Health Guidelines on congregations, which should come into effect by Sunday 2nd August 2020.

- Political parties engaged in campaigning must abide by the 10-person congregation rule. Political Leaders are urged to follow this guideline.

- For the next 14 days, the Public Service will reduce the number of workers out at any one time through a rotation/alphabetized system.

- Prime Minister Rowley noted that bars and schools remain two (2) areas of concern for Health Officials. He confirmed that Contact Tracing has led to another school being closed today. Officials are carefully watching this situation at schools and will act if more learning institutions close in the coming days.

- P.M Rowley confirmed that Health Officials have found direct links of persons being infected with COVID-19 at bars. They are monitoring this situation and will act when necessary.

- Officials are also keeping public transport under watch at this time and will intervene if necessary.

- The Prime Minister is hopeful that these changes will slow down any other clusters that may form.

- P.M Rowley on repatriation of T&T Nationals: We have granted exemptions from persons coming from 40 countries. These Nationals must stay in state quarantine for 14 days, which has helped in controlling the spread of COVID-19.

- Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Roshan Parasram, confirmed a change in the evolution of COVID-19 cases in T&T. He said we are going into “clusters” of cases, when previously cases were classified as “sporadic.”

- Technical Director, Epidemiology Division at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Avery Hinds, gave a breakdown of COVID cases from # 139 to # 169. Among the 31 cases, seven (7) were repatriated and classified as imported cases. They did not contribute to onward transmission to the public.

- Over the past two (2) weeks, there have been clusters forming. Dr. Hinds said there is a family cluster of six (6) persons. There is no clear epidemiological link yet on this group. This cluster spawned two secondary clusters – one in school and one in family/friends.

- There is also another cluster of five (5) persons. There is no clear epidemiological link yet. Among this cluster were at least three (3) persons hanging out at a bar. These three (3) then contributed to transmission of COVID-19.

- Dr. Hinds said some cases happened in the workplace and on investigation, it was found that there was a lapse in following public health protocols.

- There are four (4) individuals that Officials are still working to source a link, but they did not spread to anyone else.

- There are 29 people being treated for COVID-19 in the public health system (28 at Caura and 1 at Couva).

- Dr. Parasram stated that the public health facilities have seen an increase in persons coming in for viral diseases but not necessarily for COVID-19.

- As of 29th July 2020, exemptions for entry:

• Number of persons seeking exemptions to enter Trinidad and Tobago: 5,539.
  
• Number of exemptions granted: 2,250.
  
• Number of individuals awaiting exemption: 3,289.
  

- As of 29th July 2020, exemptions for exit:

• Number of persons seeking exemptions to leave Trinidad and Tobago: 5,580.
  
• Number of exemptions granted: 3,556.
  
• Number of persons finalizing travel arrangements to leave: 2,024.
  

- Exemptions to enter Trinidad and Tobago have been granted from 40 countries.

Watch the Press Conference below in its entirety.

In an eagerly-awaited Press Conference at 2pm this afternoon (Friday 31st July 2020), Prime Minister Keith Rowley addressed the nation to announce the decisions made by the Government to slow the spread of COVID-19.

According to the Prime Minister, the following two (2) changes will be made with immediate effect:

• Gatherings are now reduced from twenty-five (25) to ten (10) persons. Funerals, weddings and places of worship will continue as usual.
• Public servants to work on a rotational basis, either alphabetically or otherwise.

Along with the above two (2) changes, the Prime Minister noted the following:

• The SEA Exam is under “active watch” and could be postponed depending on whether positive cases continue to rise in the next few days.
• Bars and restaurants are also under “active watch” and will be closely monitored by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) to ensure enforcement of current Public Health Regulations.
• The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Games will go on as planned in August 2020.
• The General Election will go on as planned on 10th August 2020.
• Further measures could be implemented as early as next week depending on whether positive cases continue to rise in the next few days.

Watch the on-going live stream of the Press Conference below.

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

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) announced yesterday that Prime Minister Keith Rowley will be hosting a Press Conference at 2pm today (Friday 31st July 2020) from the Diplomatic Centre in Port-of-Spain. This comes a day after the Prime Minister inexplicably postponed a scheduled Press Conference. From our count, Trinidad and Tobago recorded 39 positive cases of COVID-19 in July 2020 as of this morning - the majority of which took place in the past week.

The Ministry of Health revealed this morning that T&T has its 169th case of COVID-19.

There are many issues the Prime Minister will have to address at today’s highly-anticipated Press Conference, including the following:

• Will the country be locked down for a second time in order to contain the seemingly rampant spread of COVID-19?
• Will the SEA Exam be postponed or moved forward from 20th August 2020?
• What is the status of General Election on 10th August 2020?
• Will the CPL Games be cancelled, as called for by Kamla Persad-Bissessar?

Watch the live stream of the Press Conference below when it begins at 2pm.

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

The Ministry of Health revealed in its 10am update this morning (Friday 31st July 2020) that there are five (5) more COVID-19 cases in Trinidad and Tobago. Just yesterday the Ministry announced a total of eight (8) new cases. There have now been 29 positive cases since last week Thursday. The total number of recorded cases now rises to 169.

​The Ministry notes the following about these five (5) new cases:

• Three (3) are primary contacts of a recently positive COVID-19 patient.
• ​Two (2) are pending epidiomelogical investigation.

The public has become increasingly concerned about the rising number of cases, which the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Roshan Parasram, has called the “second phase” of COVID-19 in T&T. Prime Minister Keith Rowley initially called for a Press Conference yesterday morning before suddenly postponing it at the very last minute.

That Press Conference is now scheduled for 2pm today (Friday 31st July 2020).

The Ministry of Health revealed in its 6pm update this evening (Thursday 30th July 2020) that there are seven (7) more COVID-19 cases in Trinidad and Tobago. Just this morning the Ministry reported another new case. There have now been 24 positive cases in the past seven (7) days. The total number of recorded cases now rises to 164.

​The Ministry notes the following about these seven (7) new cases:

The public has become increasingly concerned about the rising number of cases, which the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Roshan Parasram, has called the “second phase” of COVID-19 in T&T. Prime Minister Keith Rowley initially called for a Press Conference this morning before suddenly postponing it at the very last minute.

That Press Conference is now scheduled for 2pm tomorrow (Friday 31st July 2020).

UPDATE (11am): The Prime Minister has suddenly postponed today’s scheduled Press Conference. No further details were provided. Stay tuned for updates.

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) announced on Thursday morning (30th July 2020) that Prime Minister Keith Rowley will be hosting a Press Conference at 11am today from the Diplomatic Centre in Port-of-Spain.

The Ministry of Health revealed this morning that T&T has its 157th case of COVID-19 and by our check, that means there have been seventeen (17) new cases reported since last week Thursday.

There are many issues the Prime Minister will have to address at today’s Press Conference including the following:

• Will the country be locked down for a second time in order to contain the seemingly rampant spread of COVID-19?
• Will the SEA Exam be postponed or moved forward from 20th August 2020?
• What is the status of General Election on 10th August 2020?
• Will the CPL Games be cancelled, as called for by Kamla Persad-Bissessar?

Watch the live stream of the Press Conference below when it begins at 11am.

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