CARONI East MP Dr Rishad Seecheran called for Government to allow individuals to buy antigen tests, a cheap and quick way to detect whether they have covid19.
Speaking at the UNC press conference on Sunday at the Opposition Leader's office in Port of Spain, he said the PCR test which is now required to show that someone was clear of covid19, was valid for only three days after the test and is much more expensive than the antigen test.
"Antigen tests are widely available and in many cases are provided at no cost by the employer, thus eliminating the need for costly PCR tests.
"Every other country around the world utilises WHO-approved, over-the-counter antigen test kits to screen for the asymptomatic carrier," Seecheran said.
Seecheran said the antigen tests could quickly let people know their status so as not to become a super spreader, even as he recalled a Magdalena hotel employee finding out she had covid19 only after going for a check-up after being hit by the Prime Minister's golf cart.
He said no one in TT has said why these antigen test kits are not being allowed despite them being WHO-approved. In the US, these kits are sold in pharmacies at US$15-20 while in the UK, they are free.
Seecheran said England had scrapped plans to set up safe zones which have been adopted in TT where only fully vaccinated people can access goods and services in restaurants, bars, cinemas, casinos and gyms.
He said that two weeks after the start of these safe zones, TT has seen a marked increase in covid19 cases especially the delta variant.
"Is this current surge because of safe zones? The vaccine card is easy to forge and there is literally no way for the proprietor of a safe zone establishment to verify if the document is authentic," he said.
He said the health ministry allowing photocopies of vaccine cards and screen shots of these cards as proof of vaccination only adds to the uncertainty and potential for fraud.
Seecheran also suggested TT follow Antigua and Barbuda in having a vaccination card with a QR code as a means of identifying those who are fully vaxxed as opposed to those who aren't. "The QR Code when scanned will give authorised agencies access to a live database with real-time vaccination status."
He also questioned the Prime Minister's decision to travel overseas for the COP26 climate talks in Scotland at a time when covid19 cases are on the rise and the parallel health sector on the brink of collapse.
Saying the potential for another wave of covid19 infections, Seecheran asked, "Why are we reopening the economy while we are experiencing such a surge in cases? If we are throwing caution to the wind, why did we close these small businesses for over a year?"
Seecheran demanded accountability in the health ministry's spending of $480 million on covid19. "Did we procure additional ventilators for this upcoming healthcare crisis? "We are going into this delta surge without an assessment of the mistakes we made just a few months ago."
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