Dr. Maryam Abdool-Richards, Principal Medical Officer-Institutions at the Minister of Health, has said the recent spike in the daily number of positive Covid-19 cases is a cause for concern.
Abdool-Richards, who presented a clinical update of the country’s Covid-19 status at the end of Epidemiological Week 15, during Monday’s virtual Covid-19 press conference, stated that at 4 p.m. On Sunday, there were 134 confirmed cases of Covid-19, the result of test samples taken from April 15-17.
“With the increase in the number of positive Covid cases, the total number of active cases has increased to 847.”
She said Trinidad and Tobago recorded two more Covid-19 deaths in the past 48 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 153.
“We have seen a significant increase in the occupancy rate of hospitals. For example, during Epidemiological Week 11, we had a total hospital occupancy of 2 percent. At the end of week 15, we saw a significant increase in hospital occupancy, to 24 percent.
“For ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and HDU (High Dependency Unit) levels, ICU levels have increased from about two to five percent to 25 percent over a three-week period. HDU levels have also risen to 10 percent, where we previously were somewhere between zero and four percent between weeks 1 and 11.
“In addition and even more alarming is the trend of the seven-day moving average of the number of Covid-19 cases per day over a seven-week period. This trend resulted in cases that were about three for weeks 1 to 11, and at the end of week 14 we saw an increase from three to 32, and as of today at the end of week 15, that number has basically doubled to 77 cases per week. day in the past week, ”remarked Abdool-Richards.
Regarding the country’s vaccination program, she said that at 4 p.m. yesterday (Sunday), 16,462 people received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“We now have the vaccine available to high-exposure, high-risk individuals, ie health workers and the elderly (over 60 years old). However, vaccines are just an extra layer of protection in the fight against Covid-19. “
In response to the issue of the repatriation of nationals, Abdool-Richards stated that following the repatriation of 76 nationals from St. Vincent and the Grenadines last Thursday, another repatriation will take place on Wednesday, requiring nationals to return from Miami.
She said Caribbean Airlines has confirmed bookings for 128 adults and three infants, for a total of 131 returning nationals.
“The purpose of these repatriation exercises would be to ensure the safe return of our nationals located in the US, Canada, Barbados, UK and other countries, as well as to keep their families and the population safe.
Abdool-Richards called on the population to adhere to the 3W protocols of wearing your mask correctly, washing your hands often and keeping an eye on your distance.
In addition, given the increased number of Covid-19 cases, let’s avoid congregation where necessary, and also stay at home and contact the Department of Health at 800-WELL or 877-WELL if we have symptoms that might indicate COVID-19. .
“Let’s protect ourselves, our families, our colleagues and our country,” said Abdool-Richards.