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

[Dizzy28]

Yesenia didn't see this lockdown coming??

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/the-great-escape/article_a914fdfc-6c9e-11ea-bb49-eba58e60e06c.html

Hundreds of Trinis rush to beat deadline...

Hundreds of Trinidad and Tobago citizens made a desperate dash to return home yesterday before the borders were officially closed at midnight.

[paid_influencer]

this is a question from me. and admittedly I haven't listened to the Ministry news conferences in full.

Is there anything being done to quarantine the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other staff that are currently working in the Couva COVID19 hospital?

once their shift for the day is over, are these medical staff going to grocery, etc?

My nephew working there from Tom. He says they will be working one week on two weeks off. I don't know if the 14 days has the significance I think it does.

does the ministry provide any dedicated housing when he is off duty?

the thing keeping me up at night is the thought of the virus walking out of the Couva COVID19 hospital and into the wider community.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

someone said if they called a SOE and shut down most of the country it will destroy Trinidad and we won't recover.

Who say that this time ED? Yuh neighbor? The PNM co-worker? The fat PNM co-worker? The fat PNM mampee on the maxi? Yuh racist UNC family?

Funny that you asked, it was the Fat PNM Co worker to be precise the same one who said the earth is 5000 years old and flat.

The other PNM co worker the driver the boss fire he for staying home 100 days last year and 25 days this year. Going to work and on time isn't exactly a PNM trait after all, exactly as ZR said

[rspann]

this is a question from me. and admittedly I haven't listened to the Ministry news conferences in full.

Is there anything being done to quarantine the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other staff that are currently working in the Couva COVID19 hospital?

once their shift for the day is over, are these medical staff going to grocery, etc?

My nephew working there from Tom. He says they will be working one week on two weeks off. I don't know if the 14 days has the significance I think it does.

does the ministry provide any dedicated housing when he is off duty?

the thing keeping me up at night is the thought of the virus walking out of the Couva COVID19 hospital and into the wider community.

As far I I know, he will be going home. His father and mother are both doctors and they screening patients before attending to them.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

when this is all said and done, assuming you are lucky enough to be alive and in one piece, please remember to buy a full Fallout or S.T.A.L.K.E.R style respirator that can even protect against walking in chernobyl.

Right now everything sold out so this is a lesson for us to learn.

[bluefete]

Some VERY Good News:

Why this Nobel laureate predicts a quicker coronavirus recovery: 'We're going to be fine'
Joe Mozingo
LA TimesMarch 22, 2020, 5:10 PM GMT-4


A health worker checks a patient's temperature at a COVID-19 screening station at Watts Health Center. A Stanford Nobel laureate who crunched the numbers predicts the outbreak will result in fewer deaths than many experts have predicted. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

Michael Levitt, a Nobel laureate and Stanford biophysicist, began analyzing the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide in January and correctly calculated that China would get through the worst of its coronavirus outbreak long before many health experts had predicted.

Now he foresees a similar outcome in the United States and the rest of the world.

While many epidemiologists are warning of months, or even years, of massive social disruption and millions of deaths, Levitt says the data simply don't support such a dire scenario — especially in areas where reasonable social distancing measures are in place.

"What we need is to control the panic," he said. In the grand scheme, "we're going to be fine."

Here's what Levitt noticed in China: On Jan. 31, the country had 46 new deaths due to the novel coronavirus, compared with 42 new deaths the day before.

Although the number of daily deaths had increased, the rate of that increase had begun to ease off. Essentially, although the car was still speeding up, it was not accelerating as rapidly as before.

“This suggests that the rate of increase in number of the deaths will slow down even more over the next week,” Levitt wrote in a report he sent to friends Feb. 1 that was widely shared on Chinese social media. And soon, he predicted, the number of deaths would be decreasing every day.

Three weeks later, Levitt told the China Daily News that the virus' rate of growth had peaked. He predicted that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in China would end up around 80,000, with about 3,250 deaths.

This forecast turned out to be remarkably accurate: As of March 16, China had counted a total of 80,298 cases and 3,245 deaths — in a nation of nearly 1.4 billion people where roughly 10 million die every year. The number of newly diagnosed patients has dropped to around 25 a day, with no cases of community spread reported since Wednesday.

Now Levitt, who received the 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing complex models of chemical systems, is seeing similar turning points in other nations, even ones that did not instill the draconian isolation measures that China did.

He analyzed 78 countries with more than 50 reported cases of COVID-19 every day and sees "signs of recovery." He's not looking at cumulative cases, but the number of new cases every day — and the percentage growth in that number from one day to the next.

"Numbers are still noisy but there are clear signs of slowed growth."

In Iran, for instance, the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases remained relatively flat last week, from 1,133 on Monday to 1,148 on Friday.

Of course, recovering from an initial outbreak doesn't mean the virus won't come back: China is now fighting to stop new waves of infection coming in from places where the virus is spreading out of control. Other countries are bound to face the same problem as well.

Levitt acknowledges that his figures are messy, and that the official case counts in many areas are too low because testing is spotty. But even with incomplete data, "a consistent decline means there's some factor at work that is not just noise in the numbers," he said.

The trajectory of deaths backs up his findings, he said. So do data from outbreaks in confined environments, such as the one on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Out of 3,711 people on board, 712 were infected and eight died. In his view, this unintended experiment in coronavirus spread will help researchers estimate the number of fatalities that would occur in a fully infected population.

Levitt said the social-distancing mandates are critical — particularly the ban on large gatherings — because the virus is so new that the population has no immunity to it and a vaccine is still many months away. "This is not the time to go out drinking with your buddies."

Getting vaccinated against the flu is important because a coronavirus outbreak that strikes in the middle of a flu epidemic is much more likely to overwhelm hospitals and increases the odds that the coronavirus goes undetected. This was probably a factor in Italy, a country with a strong anti-vaccine movement, he said.

But he also blames the media for causing unnecessary panic by focusing on the relentless increase in the cumulative number of cases and spotlighting celebrities who contract the virus. By contrast, the flu has sickened 36 million Americans since September and killed an estimated 22,000, according to the CDC, but those deaths are largely unreported.

He fears the public health measures that have shut down large swaths of the economy could cause their own health catastrophe, as lost jobs lead to poverty and hopelessness. Time and again, researchers have seen that suicide rates go up when the economy spirals down.

The virus can grow exponentially only when it is undetected and no one is acting to control it, Levitt said. That's what happened in South Korea, when it ripped through a closed-off cult that refused to report the illness.

"People need to be considered heroes for announcing they have this virus," he said.

The goal needs to be better early detection — not just through testing but perhaps with body temperature surveillance, which China is implementing — and immediate social isolation.

While the COVID-19 fatality rate appears to be significantly higher than that of the flu, Levitt says it is quite simply put, "not the end of the world."

Based on the experience of the Diamond Princess, he estimates that being exposed to the new coronavirus doubles a person's risk of dying in the next two months. However, most people have an extremely low risk of death in a two-month period, and that risk remains extremely low even when doubled.

"The real situation is not as nearly as terrible as they make it out to be," he said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-nobel-la ... 18391.html

[Gladiator]

^^ nobody saying that the world going to end, however it will be a very different place when this is all over.

I prefer not to listen to academics, however I would have had more confidence if he didn't reference China's data of which nobody knows if its accurate or not.

[sMASH]

^^ nobody saying that the world going to end, however it will be a very different place when this is all over.

I prefer not to listen to academics, however I would have had more confidence if he didn't reference China's data of which nobody knows if its accurate or not.

3% mortality. pension sector will get an ease up.

[triniterribletim]

The rest of the world is not a totalitarian state and other people are not socially conditioned like the Chinese. People who say things will just magically disappear like China's "official numbers" are deluding themselves. The CCP's version of things and reality are not always congruent with each other.

[Gladiator]

If total confirmed cases is 336724 and Deaths are 14657 wouldn't mortality be 14657/336724 = 4.4%

Let me know if I am doing this wrong...

^^ nobody saying that the world going to end, however it will be a very different place when this is all over.

I prefer not to listen to academics, however I would have had more confidence if he didn't reference China's data of which nobody knows if its accurate or not.

3% mortality. pension sector will get an ease up.

[Dohplaydat]

If total confirmed cases is 336724 and Deaths are 14657 wouldn't mortality be 14657/336724 = 4.4%

Let me know if I am doing this wrong...

^^ nobody saying that the world going to end, however it will be a very different place when this is all over.

I prefer not to listen to academics, however I would have had more confidence if he didn't reference China's data of which nobody knows if its accurate or not.

3% mortality. pension sector will get an ease up.

Don't use those numbers to calculate it (your math is correct though). Remember those numbers are 'live'.

1. For every one person who's tested positive, you probably have at least 5 to 10 others who weren't tested because it was mild, asymptomatic or the person jus didn't get access to a test.
2. 10% of that 300k just got their positive results which means the virus now getting bad too and maybe a small fraction will die.
3. The persons tested are often the ones who are sick enough to go into a hospital to be subject to a test, they are often more likely to die as a result of getting it so bad.

Statisticians and Epidemiologists will have to go through those numbers, look at timelines for when it was contracted, look at how testing was done, when it was done (at what stage), etc and use that to calculate the real mortality, knowing fully well that there is a big unknown of how much ppl were asymptomatic or were untested. That data right now shows 80% of people won't even know they had it because of how mild it was or even experiencing no symptoms, all the while being an active carrier for almost a month.

In the end it's going to hover around 1-2%

[MaxPower]

- Our local to local cases should now begin to be detected (this week coming), roughly 7 days after being infected by someone.
- These people now spread it to at least 3-4 people, who again will show up on our tests in 2 weeks from today.
- This cycle continues and we should be spiking with 500-1000 detected cases by end the mid to end of April

And what happens if no cases detected this week?

Would you say we are at low risk.

[Dohplaydat]

- Our local to local cases should now begin to be detected (this week coming), roughly 7 days after being infected by someone.
- These people now spread it to at least 3-4 people, who again will show up on our tests in 2 weeks from today.
- This cycle continues and we should be spiking with 500-1000 detected cases by end the mid to end of April

And what happens if no cases detected this week?

Would you say we are at low risk.

No and actually that would scare me somewhat since we're just delaying the inevitable. It's best to let this virus circulate a bit so that it progresses through the population slowly. We want our population to get it so that we have some herd immunity but flatten the curve so that the health services don't get overwhelmed.

You don't want to stop all cases....because then what? We open borders when? It will be back and there will be an outbreak unless there's vaccine which doesn't seem likely anytime this year.

I see what some very poor countries are hoping for, the avoid a mass epidemic as long as possible so that when it dies down in the west, these western countries can swoop in and handle it for them.

[redmanjp]

[sMASH]

it would be interesting to know what sort of numbers of deaths we had for cold/flu SARS/MERS in the years previously, to the ones we have since this carnival. if u have a noticeable uptick, that woudl most LIKELY be due to this covid19. cause they aint testing u unless u have traveled or was in close contact with a traveler that was confirmed with it.

like when imburt saying our nominal GDP was good, and loud up the opposition/reporter/economist (cant remember which) who had pressed him on the real GDP is sheit.

the them playing equalizer with the figures, only tweaking to suit.

[hydroep]

Duke: TT needs 100,000 test kits
Stephon Nicholas

Minority Leader Watson Duke believes this country needs at least 100,000 covid19 test kits to properly combat the threat of the novel coronavirus.

In a Facebook live on Sunday, Duke said some people believe the Government is doing a good job so far. But he is not impressed, particularly with the treatment meted out to Tobagonians.

"Congrats, they have stopped 40 new cases from filtering in the public and affecting more. But what about those cases that may have slipped through? What about those cases? Are they really doing everything?" he asked.

Duke also addressed comments by Health Secretary Tracy Davidson-Celestine who, on Saturday, said the issue of locking down travel between Trinidad and Tobago is "under consideration."

She said in the meantime, the authorities have been observing the passenger traffic between the two islands.

"From all indications, the number of persons travelling has been significantly reduced," Davidson-Celestine told Newsday in a WhatsApp message.

"We also continue to appeal to persons to not travel unless it's absolutely necessary."

But speaking to Newsday on Sunday, Duke said the idea of restricting travel between the islands was illogical.

"I think it's more idle chat of the Secretary for Health. Data will show there are over 375,000 Tobagonians with Trinidad heritage living in Trinidad or (vice versa). I know of persons whose mother and father are from Tobago but they were born in Trinidad. What do you say to those persons who want to come home? Do you ban them as Trinidadians? So it's not a cut and dry issue."

Duke said the real focus should be on stringent screening of visitors and citizens for the virus.

"What needs to be done, persons coming to Tobago must be properly screened at both ports – the boat and airport. And we need to start broadening the base of people being tested; not just people with full-blown covid but those who have the slightest symptoms.

"We need to have 100,000 tests and Tobago needs to start conducting its own tests. We need a grade four laboratory in Tobago. We need to have the best standards here. "

Duke was also critical of the arrangement to have covid19 patients in Tobago transferred to Trinidad using Coast Guard vessels.

Last week it was announced by Davidson-Celestine that covid19 patients would be stabilised first at the Scarborough General Hospital and then transferred to Trinidad for further treatment.

Duke called that arrangement "barbaric" as the sea journey to Trinidad would not be ideal for a sick patient.

"We need to have persons treated in Tobago. We don't want someone who is sick to put them on a boat to Trinidad. That's not nice. Trinidadians wouldn't give in to that. It's inhumane, barbaric treatment."

He added on Facebook, "Is that Coast Guard boat a luxury boat? No, it's not... On the normal luxury boat people does get sick...They keep advantaging Tobago people...Why not a helicopter?"

Duke said Davidson-Celestine should be speaking about these issues.

"Instead, she speaking about lockdown. She doesn't have the authority for national security issues and it's beyond her capacity. So let her bat in her crease and think about giving those staff up there their gratuity and gloves and face masks and so forth."

Up to news time on Sunday, there were 50 confirmed covid19 patients being treated in Trinidad...

https://newsday.co.tt/2020/03/22/duke-tt-needs-100000-test-kits/

[hydroep]

'We can’t stay home all the time’
Kay-Marie Fletcher

Despite the call from the Prime Minister for social distancing to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, people still flocked to beaches yesterday.

The Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) said “immediate steps” have been taken to close off all access to the beaches at Macqueripe, Williams Bay and Chagville. When the Express visited these beaches, there were still many people liming.

Maria Bharat and her relatives said they came from Couva, Claxton Bay and Piparo to relax and enjoy the beach. Bharat said, “There were no patrols. What they should be doing is closing off the airport, not the beach. We can’t stay home all the time. Home is boring. We came here today to relax.”

A number of small groups of friends and families were also seen swimming and relaxing under umbrellas at the Chaguaramas boardwalk. There were also children with them. Macqueripe was a similar scene. Though the entrance barrier at the Macqueripe parking facility was locked, people parked their vehicles along the Tucker Valley Road and entered the facility by either jumping over or walking under the barrier.

However, the CDA estate police arrived and asked everyone to leave yesterday afternoon.

Sgt Nimblette and Cpl Leopold of the CDA told bathers they had to immediately stop swimming and leave the premises because the CDA was heeding the Prime Minister’s call to limit groups of people to not more than ten. They also turned back people who were attempting to enter the facility.

‘Life has to go on’

Rhea King-Julien, who is in her first trimester, told the Express, “Pregnant people need to come to the beach. It’s the first trimester, I can’t stay locked in a house. I need nature. I came by myself and I stayed ten feet away from everyone. I don’t see the danger of being in salt water.”

New York resident Joshua Delgardo who is in Trinidad on vacation, said, “I have been visiting Trinidad for many years. I am very disappointed that they are closing off the beach.”

Fabio Paulo, a visitor from Brazil told the Express, “It’s sad but I guess they got to do what they go to do, right?”

Keisha Joseph, a Canadian visitor, was also at the beach with her ten-month-old daughter and relatives. Joseph said, “We were actually going to Maracas but we ended up here. We just took a chance, since everything else is closed.”

Quincy Cooper, who said he came from Oropune to swim at Macqueripe, said: “I came because I feel bathing in the sea water will help with the cold.”

Winston Miller, a Glencoe resident said, “I’m accustomed coming here since I live close by. We’re hearing all sorts of things so we weren’t certain that it was closed. However, life has to go on.”

Other CDA officers told the Express that they visited the beach on Wednesday and asked people to leave.

The CDA officers said they will continue patrols daily.

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/we-can-t-stay-home-all-the-time/article_470569bc-6a4b-11ea-9e0e-2ff0db2e36ce.html

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Press conference @ 1400 today

[sMASH]

sooo, 1500 then...

[bluefete]

Dow futures just scraped into positive territory a few minutes ago based on overnight Fed news. Things may not be so bad at the start of today's trading.

US stock markets (Dow Jones, Nasdaq) will plummet when trading starts tomorrow morning.

[maj. tom]

I want my government issued mop-stick handle to enforce social distancing.

[RedVEVO]

^^

" ..Dow futures just scraped into positive territory a few minutes ago based on overnight Fed news. Things may not be so bad at the start of today's trading " per Blue Boy.


The above is daily business for the stock market .
It's a transfer of money . Capitalism @ work .

People / Investors liquidate.
However it will go up again since investors will buy when stocks are low.

Dow etc are indicators .

[hydroep]

Germany has tightened restrictions — public gatherings limited to 2 persons except in cases of those who live in the same household and for work purposes.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51999080

UK considering stricter policies as well...

[carluva]

'We can’t stay home all the time’
Kay-Marie Fletcher

Despite the call from the Prime Minister for social distancing to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, people still flocked to beaches yesterday.

The Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) said “immediate steps” have been taken to close off all access to the beaches at Macqueripe, Williams Bay and Chagville. When the Express visited these beaches, there were still many people liming.

Maria Bharat and her relatives said they came from Couva, Claxton Bay and Piparo to relax and enjoy the beach. Bharat said, “There were no patrols. What they should be doing is closing off the airport, not the beach. We can’t stay home all the time. Home is boring. We came here today to relax.”

A number of small groups of friends and families were also seen swimming and relaxing under umbrellas at the Chaguaramas boardwalk. There were also children with them. Macqueripe was a similar scene. Though the entrance barrier at the Macqueripe parking facility was locked, people parked their vehicles along the Tucker Valley Road and entered the facility by either jumping over or walking under the barrier.

However, the CDA estate police arrived and asked everyone to leave yesterday afternoon.

Sgt Nimblette and Cpl Leopold of the CDA told bathers they had to immediately stop swimming and leave the premises because the CDA was heeding the Prime Minister’s call to limit groups of people to not more than ten. They also turned back people who were attempting to enter the facility.

‘Life has to go on’

Rhea King-Julien, who is in her first trimester, told the Express, “Pregnant people need to come to the beach. It’s the first trimester, I can’t stay locked in a house. I need nature. I came by myself and I stayed ten feet away from everyone. I don’t see the danger of being in salt water.”

New York resident Joshua Delgardo who is in Trinidad on vacation, said, “I have been visiting Trinidad for many years. I am very disappointed that they are closing off the beach.”

Fabio Paulo, a visitor from Brazil told the Express, “It’s sad but I guess they got to do what they go to do, right?”

Keisha Joseph, a Canadian visitor, was also at the beach with her ten-month-old daughter and relatives. Joseph said, “We were actually going to Maracas but we ended up here. We just took a chance, since everything else is closed.”

Quincy Cooper, who said he came from Oropune to swim at Macqueripe, said: “I came because I feel bathing in the sea water will help with the cold.”

Winston Miller, a Glencoe resident said, “I’m accustomed coming here since I live close by. We’re hearing all sorts of things so we weren’t certain that it was closed. However, life has to go on.”

Other CDA officers told the Express that they visited the beach on Wednesday and asked people to leave.

The CDA officers said they will continue patrols daily.

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/we-can-t-stay-home-all-the-time/article_470569bc-6a4b-11ea-9e0e-2ff0db2e36ce.html

Precisely the type of behaviour and attitudes that will land us all in trouble. These people are selfish, ignorant and clueless.

The pregnant woman's attitude and statement is one of pure ignorance. Life cannot possibly go on as normal. If she's in her third trimester (and speaking from my wife having three kids) one of the best things you can do is to rest, relax and not do anything stressful. And where is the scientific evidence that salt water will help with the virus?

Imagine barricades closed but people still finding a way to go to the beach. All of these people should be charged with trespassing and be used as an example to the rest of Trinidad who wants to follow suit.

Even the Brazilian visitor has the most sense. The authorities have to do what they have to do. A visitor can see the logic but a Trini can't? Come on now, these people are not for real.

I went for a quick foraging mission to the grocery yesterday PM. The advice from those in authority is that only one person should go out and children should remain at home. In the grocery is a husband, wife and their two children rolling around in a buggy as normal. The parents did not even have the sense to wipe down or sanitise the buggy. Now I can understand where some people and single parents have no choice and must bring a kid out as a last resort, as there's no-one to look after the kid for a short time, but a family coming out for a Sunday evening grocery excursion is inexcusable. Surely one could have stayed at home with the kids while the other do the grocery run.

Unless we change our attitudes, this COVID-19 will only get worse and make the situation worse for the rest of the Nation.

[MG Man]

buddy in Holland said yesterday the weather was nice and people were out in drives in the parks by him, even they supposed to be under lockdown too....humans in general are dotish, not just the ones here

[Redman]

Long read...but very informative.

https://www.zerohedge.com/health/covid- ... r-hysteria

[teems1]

buddy in Holland said yesterday the weather was nice and people were out in drives in the parks by him, even they supposed to be under lockdown too....humans in general are dotish, not just the ones here

The Dutch were trying a herd immunity strategy instead of total lockdown.

I'm not sure if they're backtracking on it now.

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/03/mps-back-ministers-on-coronavirus-herd-immunity-is-not-the-aim-says-rutte/

[KM_2NR]

Government needs to shut down the country before its too late , its probably too late.
Any predictions for April and May?

[MaxPower]

Government needs to shut down the country before its too late , its probably too late.
Any predictions for April and May?

Boi i feel if things stay how it is now.....slow, we up and running in no time.

April and May is when Trinis will stop buying sanitizers and toilet paper and revert to their nasty ways. Bars will reopen and back to square 1.

The situation is not escalating in T&T, alot of people are waiting for this sudden out break....but that does not happen over night. By now we would have seen more and more people with severe symptoms....nothing.

I could be wrong, but let us all still be on guard.

ACT and THINK as if you have Covid19.

[pugboy]

cyclists in chaguaramas want to keep riding on the main road now that macqueripe rd closed