Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s Media Conference on COVID-19 – Wednesday August 5th 2020

Key Points From Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s Media Conference on COVID-19 – Wednesday August 5th 2020: Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley announced that Standard 5 SEA students will not attend classes at their schools from tomorrow, but will continue their preparation from home. He said Government remains committed to having the exam on August 20th. The date for the reopening of schools remains September 1st but Government and health officials are monitoring the virus and based on what comes up in the next week or two, a review and an adjustment will be made. The Prime Minister said when the time comes, Government will open schools with some element of risk management. PM Rowley expressed disappointment in TTUTA's call for teachers to stop SEA preparation classes yesterday. TTUTA's call came before Government took the decision to stop classes in a school setting. Prime Minister Rowley asked that everyone, including unions, work with the national protocol. Public Service rotation continues in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the population. Prime Minister Rowley said private sector businesses have been very cooperative and made adjustments to limit the spread of the virus at their establishments. However, bars and restaurants remain a threat and the police have been urged to enforce the law. The Prime Minister said people who are organising parties and encouraging congregation are threatening the safety of the population. PM Rowley said Government does not have billions of dollars to make funds available to citizens if the country goes into another lockdown. He is therefore asking citizens to remain vigilant and practice proper hygiene. The General Election will take place on Monday August 10th 2020. PM Rowley said the threshold for postponing the election has not been met. The virus is not raging in the population. The hospital system is also not overwhelmed at this time. The Ministry of Health will have a Press Conference on Saturday with further COVID-19 updates. The next Briefing will take place after the General Election. PM Rowley urged people to follow health protocols in the coming days. Do not congregate, election victory or not. Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh reminded the population of the statement made by the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said COVID-19 should not be politicised. He said solidarity is required to beat COVID-19. Technical Director, Epidemiology Division at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Avery Hinds, noted that two or three bars have been implicated in "a fair amount of super spreading events" but health officials continue to aggressively trace, chase and test. Dr. Hinds said the majority of recent Positive COVID-19 patients were identified through active and aggressive contact tracing, which helped contain the spread of the virus in the population. He explained that this was because persons who were identified as Primary and Secondary contacts were quarantined before testing and results came back. Currently, there are 51 people hospitalised for COVID-19. They are clinically Stable. CAURA: 40 COUVA: 11 The following is the breakdown of persons quarantined at various facilities in T&T. ARIMA GENERAL HOSPITAL: 2 CASCADIA: 17 CAURA: 4 (Adults linked to children) COUVA: 2 CHANCELLOR HOTEL: 14 HILTON: 170 (CPL) HOME OF FOOTBALL: 13 NAPA: 10 REGENT STAR: 58 UWI DEBE CAMPUS: 1 Paria Suites (64 rooms) will be added to the list of Quarantine facilities.