Ministry of Health Virtual Media Conference on COVID-19 - Saturday December 4th, 2021

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh confirmed that Tobago has ten ICU beds (seven are currently occupied) with six more to be rolled out from tomorrow. The island has also received 30 oxygen concentrators and recently received more COVID-19 testing kits. Minister Deyalsingh said T&T has 673,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in hand. These vaccines will be used in the upcoming Booster Programme. The Health Minister expressed concern for overburdened health care workers. He said measures have been taken to offer some relief to these workers including staff recruitment, rotation, psychological and detoxification sessions, vacation/time off work, and offering meals at COVID-19 facilities. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram presented data on the Omicron Variant of Concern which was first detected on November 22nd in South Africa but has since been found in neighbouring African countries as well as several countries around the world. Based on the data coming out of South Africa, Omicron is believed to be more transmissible. Dr. Parasram said preliminary data on Omicron shows an increased risk of infection, with the risk of spread being very high, which could then lead to surges. He assured that the COVID-19 vaccines are effective against this variant as it prevents hospitalisation, severe illness, and death.