Ministry of Health Virtual Media Conference on COVID-19 - Saturday April 17th 2021

Key Points from the Ministry of Health’s Virtual Media Conference on COVID-19 – Saturday April 17th, 2021. Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Roshan Parasram, gave a breakdown of active COVID-19 cases by County. Caroni: 177 Victoria: 173 St. George East: 93 St. Patrick: 72 St. George West: 68 St. George Central: 61 St. Andrew/St. David: 13 Nariva/Mayaro: 8 Tobago: 23 Director of Veterinary Public Health, Dr. Saed Rahaman, presented guidelines for the month of Ramadan and the upcoming Eid celebrations. These guidelines include: - Strict entry policies for services at masjids, including temperature screening. - Washing hands before entering the prayer space. - Walking with personal prayer mats. - Wearing masks at all times. - Ensuring proper ventilation and distancing (50% capacity). - Holding multiple Eid services instead of one large service with many people in one space. - Using social media to livestream/broadcast services. - The elderly and those with comorbidities should not chance going to gatherings. They should instead pray at home. - Physical greetings for Eid celebrations, like hugging and kissing, should be discouraged to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Rahaman said for Iftar (the breaking of fast in the evening), it is important that families do not invite others into their homes as much as possible. They can prepare the food and drop it off at their relatives' homes. Dr. Rahaman clarified that Muslims can take the COVID-19 vaccine during the month of Ramadan. CEO of the North Central Regional Health Authority, Davlin Thomas, confirmed that over 3,800 people have been vaccinated at its four COVID-19 Vaccination Sites. The following are the numbers as of Thursday April 15th, 2021: Arima District Facility - 651 Chaguanas Health Facility - 745 La Horquetta Health Centre - 551 St. Joseph Enhanced Health Centre - 1,407 (+ over 500 vaccinated Friday) So far, 5,180 vaccination appointments were made in the NCRHA. The following is the breakdown: Arima District Facility – 1,980 Chaguanas Health Facility - 600 La Horquetta Health Centre – 1,700 St. Joseph Enhanced Health Centre - 900 Mr. Thomas confirmed that over 1,300 health care workers within the NCRHA were vaccinated. St. Helena will be added as a Vaccination Site in the NCRHA from Monday. The contact numbers will be disseminated to the public in the coming days.