Members of the Opposition, led by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, boycotted Parliament for a third time in a row on Wednesday (14th April 2021) since the news that Prime Minister Keith Rowley tested positive for COVID-19 recently. The Prime Minister remains in quarantine at this time in Tobago, having tested positive again earlier this week.

​Minister of National Security, Stuart Young, condemned the Opposition for their absence at Wednesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives.

Members of the Opposition first boycotted Parliament last Friday (9th April 2021), prompting the Office of the Attorney General to issue a Media Release the day after, saying in part, “The Government is unsurprised that the Opposition boycotted the Parliament in the face of matters of high importance which demonstrates a gross dereliction of duty. The task of serving the citizenry is one which the Government treats with the utmost primacy. It is a duty and a privilege, not to be taken for granted, but such a duty has been abdicated on numerous occasions by members of the Opposition and is demonstrated in the lack of support for bail restrictions, interception of communications, witness anonymity, gaming and gambling and critical ‘follow the money’ laws against white collar crime.”

The Opposition wrote to the Speaker following news of the Prime Minister testing positive for COVID-19, seeking guidance and assurances that measures were being implemented to protect all members.

​In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader said, “Opposition Members of Parliament have abstained from today's sitting of the House of Representatives as our COVID-19 safety concerns are yet to be addressed after raising them almost a week ago. Days later, it is quite concerning that we have received no response or guidance on a matter which threatens everyone within the Parliament.”

Mrs. Persad-Bissessar noted that Opposition Members take their Parliamentary obligations very seriously, however, she said, “as we have seen reported in the media, thirty-five (35) citizens have gone into quarantine as a result of being primary and secondary contacts of the Prime Minister.”

She further stated, “As it stands, we are still unsure how many members of our House of Representatives have been primary or secondary contacts of the Prime Minister.” She also questioned, “Why is the Government applying one rule for citizens and another rule for themselves?” as new lockdown measures were announced on Wednesday to try and stem the spike in positive cases.

See the Opposition Leader’s full statement below:

Police rescued a group of persons late last night (Tuesday 13th April 2021) after they became lost while hiking along the Mt. Tabor trail in St. Augustine. The group realized they were lost around 7pm.

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), around 5:30pm on Tuesday, a group of friends, including three (3) women and a boy embarked on a recreational hike along the Northern Range, Mt. Tabor, St. Augustine. Around 7pm, upon reaching the halfway point of the hike, at a popular site known as “The Rock,” the group became lost. The hikers then contacted the Police via phone to request assistance.

The Command Centre then activated the Northern Division Operations Centre, TTPS Air Support Unit and the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service. A response team including Ag Insp Ronny Rampallard, a party of the TTPS Air Support Unit with drone assets, Ag Sgt Cassie and a party from Northern Division and E999/ND ERP, Ag Sub Officer Reid, and a party of the Santa Cruz Fire Station Land Search and Rescue North Team, conducted a search and rescue exercise.

At 10:43pm the hikers were found in good health along the Northern Range ridgeline and were brought out safely to the operational command post around 11:35pm.

The exercise was spearheaded by Snr Supt Renzey Ramdeen, ASP Deonarine and Insp Greene, additional support was provided by the Cyber Crime Unit.

St. Joseph Police are continuing enquiries.

In a Media Release on Wednesday afternoon (14th April 2021), the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) said it has taken note of media reports of yesterday and today, in which the relatives of a patient alleged a correlation between the administration of the COVID-19 Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine shot and a thrombus (blood clot), experienced by the patient.

​A 60-year-old man from Princes Town is now fighting for his life after re­ceiv­ing the Ox­ford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vac­cine last week. The man, a retired Health Inspector, is suffering from partial paralysis resulting from several blood clots and his family is blaming the vaccine he took last week.

The SWRHA advised that following a preliminary clinical investigation of the circumstances, “there is no evidence the patient's condition is linked to the vaccine. Any report to the contrary, is therefore inaccurate and greatly misleading.”

The SWRHA further stated, “However, consistent with our general protocol, the Authority has shared the information with the patient's next of kin and will continue to provide excellent medical care. The SWRHA continues to invite our valued patients and clients to contact our Customer Care Centre at 87-SWRHA (877-9742), for any matter in relations to healthcare.”

The Ministry of Health revealed in its daily 4pm update this afternoon (Wednesday 14th April 2021) that there are two (2) more unfortunate COVID-19 related deaths in Trinidad and Tobago, plus a staggering eighty-five (85) additional cases. This represents a 21.43% increase in reported cases from yesterday. These new patients will be processed for admission at the discretion of the CMOHs. The latest deaths are both adult males with multiple co-morbidities.

The Ministry reported seventy (70) new cases yesterday. Due to the ongoing surge in cases, several new restrictions are going into effect from Midnight tonight and will last for twenty-one (21) days in the first instance.

The country’s death toll has increased to 148. T&T’s total positive cases now jumps to 8,596, with 630 being active cases. A total of 7,818 patients have recovered from the virus to date. 474 persons are in home self-isolation and there are 247 persons in total at State quarantine facilities.

A total of 11,686 persons have been vaccinated across T&T to date.

The Ministry states that of the eighty-five (85) new positive cases, one (1) is a recently repatriated person. Further, the number of positive cases reported reflects the samples taken during the period 11th - 13th April 2021 and not the last 24 hours.

In its latest update, the Ministry notes that there have been nineteen (19) recovered community cases. Recovered community cases refer to persons who were previously COVID-19 positive and in self-isolation at home, and subsequently met the discharge criteria and were released from self-isolation.

The Ministry also notes that there are currently sixty-six (66) COVID-19 positive patients being treated at Hospitals:

• 38 at Couva.
  
• 6 at Caura.
  
• 2 at St. Ann’s.
  
• 20 at Scarborough Regional.
  

Among the patients at Couva, five (5) are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and four (4) are in the High Dependency Unit (HDU). There are also currently five (5) COVID-19 positive patients in step-down/transition facilities - all at UWI, Debe.

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

40,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, which were donated by the Government of India, arrived in Trinidad and Tobago at 10:22pm last night (Tuesday 13th April 2021).

A Media Release from the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs stated, “This was as a result of the gracious response from the Honourable Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India to a letter sent by Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on 23rd February 2021. This further strengthens the longstanding relationship between the Governments and people of both countries.”

Senator the Honourable Dr. Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, officially received the donation from His Excellency Arun Kumar Sahu, High Commissioner of the Republic of India, at the Piarco International Airport. The Honourable Terrence Deyalsingh, Minister of Health was present to witness the ceremonial handover of the vaccines.

These World Health Organization (WHO)-approved vaccines will be transferred to the Ministry of Health and added to the current stock of COVID-19 vaccines which are being used to inoculate the population.

Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs further said, “The Goverment of Trinidad and Tobago will continue its efforts to safeguard the health of the population, through the application of public health measures, including the provision of approved COVID-19 vaccines that are both safe and effective.”

​At a virtual Press Conference this morning, Min­is­ter Deyals­ingh said the sec­ond phase of the vac­cine roll­-out is sched­uled to start this Sat­ur­day (17th April 2021) with the vac­ci­na­tion of es­sen­tial work­ers. This group in­cludes Par­lia­men­tar­i­ans and their spous­es, se­nior Pub­lic Of­fi­cers, Po­lice and Fire Of­fi­cers and mem­bers of the De­fence Force.

The Ministry of Health held a virtual Press Conference at 11am this morning (Wednesday 14th April 2021) to update the public on the latest developments with COVID-19 in Trinidad and Tobago.

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

- Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, announced a rollback of COVID-19 restrictions, which will go into effect from Midnight tonight and will last for a period of three (3) weeks. The restrictions are as follows:

1. No in-house dining in restaurants/cinemas/casinos/bars.
2. Public Gatherings will be reduced from ten (10) people to five (5).
3. All Beaches in T&T closed to the public, including those found “Down D Islands.”

- The Health Minister stated that over the past two (2) days, over 1,800 vaccine doses per day were administered. He also indicated that due to last night’s shipment of 40,000 Covishield vaccines from India, the Health Ministry has made the decision to use all 33,600 vaccine doses from the first tranche of COVAX vaccines in this first phase.

- Minister Deyalsingh also announced that Phase 2 of this country’s vaccine roll-out is set to begin this Saturday (17th April 2021). He indicated that in this phase those categorized as “essential workers” will be allowed to receive their vaccine. This group includes:

• Parliamentarians and their spouses.
• Senior Public Officers.
• Local Government Personnel.
• Police/Customs/Immigration/Fire Officers.
• Members of the Defence Force.

- CEO of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), Dr. Brian Armour, addressed reports concerning a blood clot in a patient who received the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Armour stated that there is no evidence at this time that the condition of any patient has any link to the AstraZeneca vaccine. He indicated that the case has been clinically evaluated and an internal report is being compiled.

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

[Source: TTT Live Online]