State of Emergency in T&T to combat COVID-19

(Trinidad Express) – With bed space running out for critically ill COVID-19 patients, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley this afternoon announced the following COVID restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus.

From midnight tonight, T&T will be under a State of Emergency.

It involves a curfew will be from 9p.m to 5a.m.

If you don’t have to be out for exempted reason, you stay home under force of law, he said.

He said T&T had tried to avoid this eventuality, but had clearly failed.

“I’m sorry it has come to coffins and the faces of dead people, to realize that we have always been in a very difficult place.”

He said the new measures were meant to prevent a situation where people sick with the virus were not even able to access health care, and were dying for want of oxygen.

Before the prime minister’s announcement, Principal Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards gave an update on the number of beds in the parallel health care system.

“At this rate, we are out of hospital beds, and if you require care, you will not be receiving the best level of care.”

And epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds said 43 of every 100 people being tested were now coming back with a positive result.