Update: T&T has 85 positive cases of coronavirus, as country enters vital two week stretch

The health ministry recorded four additional confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, as Trinidad and Tobago’s count rose to 85 positive reports from 550 samples. So far, there have been three deaths and one discharge.

In two of the confirmed cases, the new coronavirus was spread through close contact with someone who tested positive. The health ministry again pointed out that 49 of its positive cases came from nationals who recently returned from the Costa Favolosa cruise.

At present, the government is asking people to stay at home for the next two weeks to slow the spread of the virus, so infection does not happen at a rate that could overwhelm its healthcare system.

The Ministry of Health continues to urge members to:

• Wash your hands properly with soap and water, or alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap and water are unavailable;
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and dispose tissue immediately after using, or cough and sneeze into crook of your elbow;
• Avoid touching your face;
• Practice social distancing—that is no kissing, hugging or hand-shaking, and avoid mass gatherings;
• Sanitise hard surfaces as often as possible, such as tabletops, handrails, doorknobs and trolleys;
• Avoid close contact with people who have flu-like symptoms;
• Stay home if you are ill or not employed with a company providing an essential service.

More from Wired868

Dr Teelucksingh: Blind spots; what long lines for free cataract surgery says about T&T’s healthcare

The photographs were difficult to ignore. Long lines outside the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital. Elderly patients waiting patiently in chairs. Family Read more

Dr Harris: Valuing workers is only way to avoid brain drain and retain T&T’s best assets

“[…] In his 1971 book The Mechanics of Independence, ANR Robinson wrote that: ‘As financial rewards are lower in the Read more

Dr Teelucksingh: Revisiting The Emperor’s New Hospital—why accountability matters

At six o’clock one morning not too long ago, a woman sat quietly outside a public clinic with a numbered Read more

Dear Editor: Health care is not a privilege—it is a right

“[…] Ordinary citizens know the challenges all too well: waiting lines that stretch for hours before a doctor can be Read more

Vaneisa: Burning to learn—what awaits UWI’s class of 2025?

This past week has seen graduation exercises at The University of the West Indies (UWI)—a batch of degreed people flowing Read more

Daly Bread: Revisiting “arbitrary” Covid travel exemptions and T&T’s “narrow” suffering

This week I am returning to the recent Court of Appeal declaration that it was a breach of the constitutional Read more

Editor