COVID-19 in Trinidad & Tobago (Local Updates & Discussions Only)

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ I wonder if that's from the community testing or someone connected to one of the previous cases?

[Gladiator]

CAL has chartered planes without CAL markings-They become CAL flights?

Yeah...I came in on a Polish Airways plane once from NYC...it was a CAL flight

[hydroep]

Ah wonder if dem thousands of test kits we get from China that Growlers was boasting about are anything like these:

[De Dragon]

these pests getting to come back now want home quarantine ?
steups.

Tell me about it.

But I would like to commend Stuarty for holding firm with his decision to keep them out despite all the provoking rants towards him.

Let this be a lesson for all you irresponsible Trinis.

You do know Goebbels Young folded like a cheap suitcase in the end right?

In the end, yes he did.

He did well...still a pantyman, be he did well.

Actually he was a pantyman at the outset of this unnecessary debacle, now he just ended up looking like a weak pantyman.

[pugboy]

there have been several of these positive cases stating "pending epidiemlogical investigation"
they ever said what was the outcome of these folks tracing ?

[Gladiator]

They just use big words to confuse them PNM people and tanty from Baarakpore...

there have been several of these positive cases stating "pending epidiemlogical investigation"
they ever said what was the outcome of these folks tracing ?

[adnj]

CDC director warns second wave of coronavirus is likely to be even more devastating



April 21, 2020 at 6:19 PM EDT

Even as states move ahead with plans to reopen their economies, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday that a second wave of the novel coronavirus will be far more dire because it is likely to coincide with the start of flu season.

“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in an interview with The Washington Post. “And when I’ve said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don’t understand what I mean.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... cdirector/

[paid_influencer]

[DTAC]

there have been several of these positive cases stating "pending epidiemlogical investigation"
they ever said what was the outcome of these folks tracing ?

"Pending Epidemiological investigation" means they have no frigging clue. Will never be disclosed as having no clue as to where it came from so will be "investigated" ad infinitum.

[paid_influencer]

the CMO in a conference said "pending epidemiological investigation" usually means they did not fill out the whole form before it was sent to CARPHA.

but in this case it probably means something more worse, since all the known contacts have been traced and there is nobody with a travel history anymore.

[shogun]

Official local numbers and trajectory looks encouraging but not willing to give anyone a "win" here until at least a couple months of extensive exploratory community testing is done.

[pugboy]

ok
a stephen williams kinda press conference then
every crime under investigation and at a critical stage

there have been several of these positive cases stating "pending epidiemlogical investigation"
they ever said what was the outcome of these folks tracing ?

"Pending Epidemiological investigation" means they have no frigging clue. Will never be disclosed as having no clue as to where it came from so will be "investigated" ad infinitum.

[MaxPower]

So UNC make a fuss about opening the country and then bam shot a nex case pop up?

Wtf it is really going on?

[Dave]

Weren't they the ones demanding am Soe and now demanding open everything, my my have quickly the tables turn.

[carluva]

It's called politics. And the best players in that game are the politicians. They change minds like a baby changes diapers.

[Gladiator]

So UNC make a fuss about opening the country and then bam shot a nex case pop up?

Wtf it is really going on?

Probably an imported case with a 45 day incubation period.... you know if Terry say that on TV tomorrow all dem PNM folks lapping that up like ah 2 piece with fries and a red seee drink...

[shogun]

Weren't they the ones demanding am Soe and now demanding open everything, my my have quickly the tables turn.

They irrelevant. Just angling for any way to oppose. Even if it might cost lives. Same thing their supporters doing. Think this place easy?

Like carluva said... politicians will politic.

[DTAC]

It's called politics. And the best players in that game are the politicians. They change minds like a baby changes diapers.

And both full of shi......

[pugboy]

you not supposed to remember that
we the populace have short memories

Weren't they the ones demanding am Soe and now demanding open everything, my my have quickly the tables turn.

[Dave]

Lol sorry for remembering...carry on.

[sMASH]

time for the lock down would be initially. now that time has gone, time to open back up,,, according to their statistics

[Kewell35]

Bro... Do whatever the firetruck yuh want. Is your azz to catch.... Not mine

Plan A...get your papers in order and look at life outside Trinidad and besides murica. Besides food security, how long can we really sustain ourselves on $20 oil prices???

Plan B: try all how for plan A to work...there will be an increase in criminal activity...I am 110% sure about this

But Gladiator was saying now is the time to not migrate and for all people abroad to come back to Trinidad.

Post covid 19 bredda man...othet countries will bounce back...not so sure about here

The conversation was about post covid 19.

Plan A...get your papers in order and look at life outside Trinidad and besides murica. Besides food security, how long can we really sustain ourselves on $20 oil prices???

Plan B: try all how for plan A to work...there will be an increase in criminal activity...I am 110% sure about this

But Gladiator was saying now is the time to not migrate and for all people abroad to come back to Trinidad.

Post covid 19 bredda man...othet countries will bounce back...not so sure about here

As I said.... for the next 3-5 years keep your tail in T&T... we can still plant provision, catch fish, eat mango and suck cane. Outside there is dog eat dog. They will bounce back eventually but if things goes South those bigger countries would be hell on earth.

You have to be delusional if you think the west will take 5 years to recover. I'm talking about from the perspective of someone who has legal papers to live in a western country (green card/papers) etc. This is the only way you can legally migrate to the US (without asylum etc).

Imagine this jack telling a US citizen to leave a western country to live in Trinidad.
Soon white people will be coming Trinidad to take all yuh jobs to sell bara. All yuh trinis be very afraid.

[Blaze d Chalice]

I must admit ... the PNM playbook is a masterpiece. They have created such fear in the minds of people from COVID that they have total control of everything that their followers do, say and think. As you rightfully said, anything one says in disagreement with their approach is met with vicious attacks.

The more I look at what is happening worldwide I think that there is a hidden agenda by these Politicians. This is the perfect scenario to reduce the world population and create a welfare system of total Govt control. Everybody was confused when the PNM started creating unemployment by shutting down everything pre Covid .... COVID is now the perfect catalyst to kill everything now. Lets see where this goes... they sure not letting this crisis go to waste.

You should read the full brochure thing.

"Scenarios for the future of technology and international development"

https://www.nommeraadio.ee/meedia/pdf/RRS/Rockefeller%20Foundation.pdf

But technically speaking and I might sound like screwbash, "the man" king growlers, could withhold the actual figures and anytime he feel ollor need more lockdown, 'detect' a new case and take a next 14 days extension in ollor MC indefinitely without calling a SOE. Ent Watson Duke say how some workers were exposed to a suspected case? Then when everything is down to zero they will blame it on Covid, call election and will win because if Kamilla didnt teef out the money it woulda have a lil something for everybody to survive on.

Well dan hard luck dey if you spend out your money on gold chain.
You could pose with it on instagram and fool up some of dem pest-gyul who click "like" to send you phonecard and cook for you. But doh play you coming to rob. They should pass a law that allows you to buss open pest head free of charge, if they coming to rob you on your property during these restrictions.

[redmanjp]

there have been several of these positive cases stating "pending epidiemlogical investigation"
they ever said what was the outcome of these folks tracing ?

nothing- so it amounts to local/community spread, why else would we be in lock down ?

i wonder if it was the surveillance testing that produced this case. this supposed to start a week ago- have they announced the results of these tests?

[AlliDr]

there have been several of these positive cases stating "pending epidiemlogical investigation"
they ever said what was the outcome of these folks tracing ?

nothing- so it amounts to local/community spread, why else would we be in lock down ?

i wonder if it was the surveillance testing that produced this case. this supposed to start a week ago- have they announced the results of these tests?

They have not started surveillance testing as yet.....they still training health officials to do the tests.

Covid19 surveillance testing starts in a week

From Monday the Ministry of Health will be able to ramp up covid19 testing across TT.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh told the media during a virtual press conference on Monday that the ministry had received 1,750 extraction kits.

These are to be used in conjunction with the 4,000 testing kits given to TT by China and another 10,000 are expected to arrive in two weeks.

This week the ministry will begin training health officials in how to do covid19 tests.

He said, “Once they are trained we will have to spend time certifying the results we get from about 200 tests are compatible with CARPHA."

CARPHA, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, does all official testing of samples for covid 19. Once the test kits and extraction kits are validated, testing will begin. Surveillance testing will be done at one health centre in each county and will focus on people who go there with possible symptoms of the virus.

Only people who meet the clinical criteria for testing will be selected and offered the option of a test. People will not be tested through a walk-in process and not everyone with a cough will be tested.

Deyalsingh said TT expects to receive 10,000 complete testing kits with extraction kits in two weeks from the Pan American Health Organization,

He said the ministry aims to have 3,000-5,000 in preparation for the second and third waves of the virus.

Deyalsingh said PAHO had disregarded the use of rapid testing kits so TT will not be using them. This advice was shared during a meeting with ministers of health of the Americas on April 14. The meeting was hosted to discuss developments in the areas of diagnostics, therapeutics, and social distancing measures.

Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds said at the media conference that contract tracers have identified 715 people who had been in contact with covid19 patients. They have been contacted and their symptoms are being monitored.

He said, “Some of the contacts identified would have contributed to the persons tested. If anyone is symptomatic will be immediately tested.”

He pointed out that those identified as contacts do not live near the covid19 patients.

“Trinidad is a small place and anyone can be in contact with anyone else. Don’t take our current state for granted. It's important, with the work that has been done and the co-operation of the public, we maintain and renew focus and remain at home.”

As of Monday evening, TT has had 114 covid19 cases, eight deaths and 22 patients had been discharged.

There are 59 patients hospitalised at Couva and Caura Hospital. There are ten at Caura in a stable condition and 49 at Couva, with one patient in the high dependency.

There are 25 people at the Sangre Grande stepdown facility.

The eight covid19 fatalities were 55 and older with underlying conditions, Hinds revealed.


https://newsday.co.tt/2020/04/20/new-co ... in-a-week/

[hydroep]

More details from the family and friends of victim #1. If one takes March 6 as the date when symptoms first presented themselves, their account lends more credibility to the Carnival infection theory...

Widow of Trini ‘Iron Man’ Hansel Leon ‘stunned’ by his sudden death
Nelson A. King

The widow of Trinidadian “Iron Man,” Hansel B. Leon, Sr., who died in his native land on March 25, says she is “stunned” by his sudden passing. Leon was 77.

“His death has stunned me,” Trinidadian Gemma Thomas-Ahyase told Caribbean Life in an exclusive interview over the weekend. “I’m not happy that, in Trinidad, they published a lot of his personal information, but that will be handled later.”

Thomas-Ahyase, a Brooklyn lawyer, did not elaborate the latter statement.

Leon’s daughters, Krishanda Leon-Jemmott and Natasha Leon-Craigwell – both residents of Brooklyn – told Caribbean Life that their father died at Couva Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago.

“As a family, it is still unclear of how he died,” they said in an interview.

But Herman Hall, the Grenadian-born publisher of the Brooklyn-based, Caribbean American magazine, Everybody’s, posted on Facebook, on Mar. 26, that Leon, who resided in Flatbush, Brooklyn, was “a victim of COVID-19.”

In conveying what she said was her side of the story, Thomas-Ahyase, who resides in Canarsie, Brooklyn, said she and Leon had travelled to Trinidad and Tobago, in February, during the twin-island republic’s carnival season.

“We normally go there every year,” she said. “I have family in Port-of-Spain (the Trinidad capital), and he has a family home in San Fernando (considered Trinidad’s second capital). He would normally spend most of his time with me and my family.

“He was spending more time in San Fernando this time, when he became ill,” added Thomas-Ahyase, however.

Around Friday, March 6, she said Leon told her in a telephone conversation that he wasn’t eating much.

“But he always talks about eating sparsely and scolds me for buying and eating too many different things,” she said. “So, I had no reason to suspect he had no appetite.”

On March 8, Thomas-Ahyase said Leon “came into Pizza Hut in Gulf City (in Trinidad) and sat across from me after I’d travelled from Port-of-Spain.

“We didn’t touch, but he looked really haggard, and his eyes looked ‘veiled’,” she said. “I thought it was a result of his love of the bottle. So, next day, I scolded him on the phone from Port-of-Spain.

“That Wednesday, he told me his chest was tight, and I pleaded with him to go to the hospital or (to see) a doctor,” Thomas-Ahyase added. “But he went to bed instead.

“We agreed for him to come to Port-of-Spain next day,” she continued, “but he didn’t have the strength to get himself together. I just thought he had the flu, but I was concerned.”

On the morning of Friday, April 13, Thomas-Ahyase said she got the Trinidad and Tobago number for Leon’s “best friend’s wife, who I knew was staying in San Fernando, and I asked her to take him to a doctor or hospital for me.”

“She had to call an ambulance,” Thomas-Ahyase said. “Everyone is speculating, but me and his best friends from Georgia, and one son and his youngest daughter, were the closest to him.

“I was closest of all, because we spent most of the time together at my home and his,” she added. “He/we were not on any cruise.”

Thomas-Ahyase said she and Leon “became best friends for four years before we began a relationship and married quietly.”

She disclosed that they were married in the Municipal Building, downtown Brooklyn, on Sept. 29, 2017, and that “there was no wedding.”

“I plan to join with the pan fraternity if they would allow me in memorializing his life,” Thomas-Ahyase said.

Hall said that Leon — who promoted steelpan music in the US for almost four decades and “was once married to (the) popular Jean Leon, well known Trinbagonian-New Yorker and former Director of Nursing at Kings County Medical Center — made his annual pilgrimage to Trinidad & Tobago carnival on Feb. 5; he remained in his birth country to avoid wintry New York.”

Hall said Leon, who was a welder by occupation, “fell ill on March 13 and (was) admitted at Couva Hospital.

“Based on his early departure from NY, he may have contracted the deadly virus in Trinidad & Tobago,” Hall wrote on Facebook.

Jean Leon, who was actually a chief executive officer at the sprawling Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life that she and Leon were divorced 23 years ago.

She had referred the paper to Leon’s elder daughter, Krishanda, for more information about her ex-husband’s passing.

Krishanda then sought out younger sister, Natasha, to join the interview.

“Daddy had an ear for timing and rhythm like no other,” they said. “He played many roles in the steel band fraternity. His talents allowed him to play many percussion instruments skillfully, including the tenor steel pan.

“He was well known for playing the iron, thus his nickname the ‘Iron Man’,” they added. “He did not only bring his musical talents to this community (Brooklyn) but also his smile, personality and dance moves.”

Hall also said that Leon “beat the iron in the rhythm section of several steel band orchestras in Brooklyn, as they rehearsed for Brooklyn’s panorama at the Brooklyn Museum grounds every Labor Day weekend, and added ‘riddim’ in most soca/calypso parties and concerts.

“A diehard fan of calypso, steelpan, carnival and other events that promoted the culture of Trinidad & Tobago, ‘Hanny’ (Leon) was a regular or ‘limer’ at Sesame Flyers, the popular cultural and educational organization on Church Avenue, Brooklyn,” he said.

“He attended calypso tents and shows presented by Everybody’s magazine,” Hall added.

Joyce Quamina — the Trinidadian-born, former long-standing treasurer of the Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), the group that organizes the annual Caribbean carnival extravaganza in Brooklyn — said Leon was “a good ‘Iron Man’.

“I know him beating the iron,” she told Caribbean Life tersely.

Krishanda and Natasha said that the family was “deeply saddened, devastated and heart broken,” over their father’s passing.

“No amount of words can describe the loss that the family feels,” they said. “It is unfortunate that we had no contact with him weeks before his death, after many requests to speak with him.

“Daddy was full of life and, according to the other patients that were reported in the news, he was able to shine some of his light and positivity on them while in the midst of their battle with the virus (coronavirus — COVID-10) and given circumstances,” they added. “He was jovial, altruistic and loved by all he encountered.”

Natasha and Krishanda said the steel band fraternity in Brooklyn “has acknowledged that they have lost a great addition to their community.

“There has been an outpour of love from the steel band fraternity,” they said. “Many have reached out to offer their condolences and (to) share happy memories that they had with him.

“The steel band community has expressed great willingness to attend and contribute music in memory of my father,” added the sisters, disclosing that their father was cremated the day after his death.

“Due to the current circumstance with COVID-19, the family is unaware of when we can have a service and memorial for my father,” they continued. “However, when time permits, we will indefinitely give him the home going service and memorial that he deserves.”

Natasha and Krishanda said that their father, who was born on Nov. 13, 1942, in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, lived in New York for 49 years.

https://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/widow-of-trini-iron-man-hansel-leon-stunned-by-his-sudden-death/

[Gladiator]

Aye cornt hole.... I wasn't talking about white people...you was asking about your little plick self cause you ent know what to do and like you have no support system so have to ask on Trinituner..... If to stay here and take wood or go foreign and take wood

Stay in Trinidad go foreign.... Nobody fuken cares....

Bro... Do whatever the firetruck yuh want. Is your azz to catch.... Not mine

Plan A...get your papers in order and look at life outside Trinidad and besides murica. Besides food security, how long can we really sustain ourselves on $20 oil prices???

Plan B: try all how for plan A to work...there will be an increase in criminal activity...I am 110% sure about this

But Gladiator was saying now is the time to not migrate and for all people abroad to come back to Trinidad.

Post covid 19 bredda man...othet countries will bounce back...not so sure about here

The conversation was about post covid 19.

Plan A...get your papers in order and look at life outside Trinidad and besides murica. Besides food security, how long can we really sustain ourselves on $20 oil prices???

Plan B: try all how for plan A to work...there will be an increase in criminal activity...I am 110% sure about this

But Gladiator was saying now is the time to not migrate and for all people abroad to come back to Trinidad.

Post covid 19 bredda man...othet countries will bounce back...not so sure about here

As I said.... for the next 3-5 years keep your tail in T&T... we can still plant provision, catch fish, eat mango and suck cane. Outside there is dog eat dog. They will bounce back eventually but if things goes South those bigger countries would be hell on earth.

You have to be delusional if you think the west will take 5 years to recover. I'm talking about from the perspective of someone who has legal papers to live in a western country (green card/papers) etc. This is the only way you can legally migrate to the US (without asylum etc).

Imagine this jack telling a US citizen to leave a western country to live in Trinidad.
Soon white people will be coming Trinidad to take all yuh jobs to sell bara. All yuh trinis be very afraid.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Minister of Health: So far a total of 37 patients have been discharged

Currently there are 109 patients across the parallel health facilities setup to handle those infected with Covid-19

T&T is using only 50% of all facilities set up so far for handling Covid-19

63 community surveillance tests were carried out so far and all were negative.

[Dizzy28]

The Ministry's release say there are 70 ppl in hospitals
+ the 37 discharged + the 8 who died = 115 (total cases)

Minister of Health: So far a total of 37 patients have been discharged

Currently there are 109 patients across the parallel health facilities setup to handle those infected with Covid-19

T&T is using only 50% of all facilities set up so far for handling Covid-19

63 community surveillance tests were carried out so far and all were negative.

[redmanjp]

Minister of Health: So far a total of 37 patients have been discharged

Currently there are 109 patients across the parallel health facilities setup to handle those infected with Covid-19

T&T is using only 50% of all facilities set up so far for handling Covid-19

63 community surveillance tests were carried out so far and all were negative.

well that is some good news- so far no evidence of community spread. but this testing should continue till the end of the month and then once we still have 0 cases then relax restrictions.