With the anticipated end of the state of emergency on November 29 and the current spike in covid19 cases, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the SoE which began on May 15.
Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds said at a press conference that the surge in covid19 cases and deaths started in October.
“We are already at even one third of the total for October, really just in the first week of November. So we're seeing the collecting accruing cases at a faster rate. And we also see that the percentage positivity is showing an upward trend, which is also a cause for concern.
"So we're looking at increasing numbers of cases in the more recent weeks, and the background positivity is also increasing, indicating that we do have to be careful.”
Data from the Ministry of Health showed from November 1-12, there have been 4,190 infections and 132 deaths as a result of the virus.
The Ministry of Health covid19 updates from on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday showed 512, 509, and 535 new cases were detected, and 12, 12, and ten more deaths occurred respectively.
In the month before the SoE, April 15-May 14, there were 6,701 new cases and 115 deaths. And in the first month of the SoE, May 15-June 14, there were 13,083 new cases and 401 deaths.
The strain on the parallel health care system was so much, especially on the intensive care and high dependency units, that on May 17 the US donated two field hospitals to Trinidad and Tobago, valued at US$1.5 million, which were set up at the Couva hospital and the Jean Pierre Complex.
Tends show that over the past months, the daily new covid19 cases averaged around 200. That number of new cases gradually increased over the past two weeks to linger between 300 and 400 in the last week of October and first week of November before it jumped to over 500 on Wednesday.
Some average citizens, and businessmen in particular, have doubts that the SoE and curfew worked. For example, in a previous Newsday article, MovieTowne owner Derek Chin said, “It (the SoE) really has not provided the results that they thought it would have provided, as covid is still around and covid is still spiking. So one will agree with the decision (to end the curfew), in light of the fact that the covid hasn’t really been controlled to that extent.”
However, ata press conference on November 6, Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said the increase in covid19 cases was multifactorial, including the spread of the delta variant and the reopening of various sectors.
“We have been seeing increased numbers of delta cases and we are now at a stage where delta is considered to be widely prevalent in the country. Delta compared to the P1 strain is two to three times more transmissible. It is possibly the delta element being the most significant.”
Primary care physician Dr Visham Bhimull agreed with Parasram, saying the recent surge was the result of three factors.
First, he said the delta variant was now in “full-blown”
