Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s Media Conference – Saturday May 9th 2020:

Key Points From Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s Media Conference On COVID-19 – Saturday May 9th 2020: - Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley announced that "reasonable" adjustments have been made to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in T&T. These measures will be broken up into Phases for the next six weeks. - Phase 1 will run from Monday May 11th to May 23rd 2020. Phase 1 will see food establishments/restaurants opening and providing services from Monday May 11th 2020, but there will be NO dine-in service. Curbside pickup, deliveries, and drive-thru services are allowed to get food. Food establishments/restaurants will open until 8PM every day. Street food service resumes but owners must follow proper hygiene practices and ensure physical distance is maintained. Bars remain CLOSED. - Restricted outdoor activities will be allowed in Phase 1, but NO contact or team sports will be allowed. Sport gatherings are also prohibited. People will be allowed to walk, hike, or run but NOT in groups of five or more. They must also keep 6 feet away from the nearest person on the jogging track or path. Masks are required when engaging in outdoor activities. Gyms will not open in Phase 1. - Under Phase 1, Hardware, plumbing and electrical stores will now open from 8AM to 4PM. Groceries will open from 8AM to 6PM. Pharmacies will close at 8PM. - There will be no congregating when engaging in any activity. - PM Rowley said the new measures in Phase 1 will return some level of commerce to T&T. However, he said the Stay At Home Order is still in place and if it is not essential for people to go out, they must stay in place. - TCL, New Iron and WITCO have been granted approval for the start-up of operations. - Phase 2, which will run from May 24th to June 6th, will see the reopening of the entire manufacturing sector and recommencing of public sector construction. But this is contingent on COVID-19 numbers remaining down. Maxi taxis/taxis will operate at 50% passenger capacity. - Phase 3, which will run from June 7th to 20th, will see the entire Public Service coming out to work, but flexi-time will be utilised. Private sector construction will commence and maxi taxis/taxis will be allowed to carry 75% passenger capacity in Phase 3. - PM Rowley said if all goes well in Phase 1 and people follow the rules outlined, the dates for Phase 2 and Phase 3 will be moved up. This will only happen if the Government and medical experts are satisfied that people are following the new regulations to manage COVID-19 during the phased reopening. The Prime Minister said he is hoping people do what is right so they can return to work earlier. - PM Rowley encouraged the private sector to plan ahead in the event that we quickly advance to Phase 2 and Phase 3. PM Rowley: Opening of malls and beaches in Phase 4. PM Rowley: Opening of cinemas in Phase 5. PM Rowley: Opening of TT borders in Phase 6. - Hairdressing salons, spas and other such services will open in a later phase (possibly in Phase 3). - PM Rowley said T&T has done "surprisingly well" as the Government had been catering for the worst. He said now is not the time for complacency since this will set the phased reopening back considerably. "We cannot at this stage let our guard down." - Schools will remain closed. Parents are required to take responsibility for their children. CSEC and CAPE will take place in July. - NLCB operations(Play Whe, Lotto etc.) to restart at a later phase. - Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram reiterated the "new normal" for Trinidad and Tobago as Phase 1 rolls out. People must continue to maintain physical distance, engage in regular hand hygiene, use cloth masks in public, ensure public spaces are sanitised, and stay at home if they are sick. - Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh confirmed that elective surgeries will restart next week. - Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh confirmed that 652 Community Tests have been administered at the various health facilities in T&T, with all returning Negative. - The following is the update on COVID-19 patients across the various facilities: COUVA: 1 patient (High Dependency Unit) HOME OF FOOTBALL STEP DOWN FACILITY: 3 patients UWI Debe Campus: 70 patients (69 Returning Nationals from Suriname, and 1 Returning National from Guyana.)