Ministry Of Health Virtual Media Conference - Tuesday April 21st 2020

KEY POINTS FROM THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH’S VIRTUAL MEDIA CONFERENCE – TUESDAY APRIL 21ST 2020: - Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said globally, there are 2.5 million Positive cases of COVID-19 in 200 countries, with 171,796 deaths around the world. - Government continues to prepare facilities in anticipation of a second wave of COVID-19 in T&T. - The Arima Facility will be operational by Friday to treat special COVID-19 cases. This facility can treat as much as 94 Suspect, Pediatric and Dialysis cases. - Fifty beds at Augustus Long Hospital to treat Acute & Critical COVID cases. - Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said the 10 Ventilators that were in transit to T&T are currently stuck in Panama. Officials have taken a decision to send 4 ventilators from Trinidad to Tobago, so the island can boost capacity. STEP DOWN FACILITIES UPDATE: - 23 persons now at Home of Football in Couva. - 21 persons at Sangre Grande Step Down Facility. - 33 TT Nationals who will be arriving from Barbados today will be housed at the Tacarigua Convalescent Centre. MOH COVID-19 Update Tuesday 21st April 2020 - 10AM: - Samples Submitted For Testing: 1,380 - Positive Samples: 114 - Number of Deaths: 8 - Number of Persons Discharged: 26 - CAURA: 10 (Stable) - COUVA: 26 (Mild) There are no COVID-19 patients in Intensive Care Unit or the High Dependency Unit. - Dr. Joanne Paul, Head of the Pediatrics Emergency Department at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, urged parents to continue vaccinations for their children. - Dr. Paul noted that most COVID-19 cases in healthy children are mild. However, she said parents should still take preventative measures to protect their children, such as not having them around the persons over 65 years with flu-like symptoms. Greater care should also be taken with children whose immune systems are compromised such as those with cancer, cerebral palsy, sickle cell, asthma etcetera. - Dr. Paul reminded that the mental health aspect is also quite important for children, and parents should explain what is happening with COVID-19 to them in terms they would understand. Parents should also spend quality time with their children to give them emotional support. Use Of Face Masks In Children: - Children under 2 years old should NOT wear face masks. - Children between 3 and 5 years can wear face masks, if they can tolerate it/keep it on without issue. - Children 5 and over should wear masks. - Parents urged to focus on hand hygiene and other sanitation methods for kids. - With the Holy Month of Ramadan approaching, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said he met with Muslim Leaders on COVID-19 and they pledged their support to follow guidelines on social distancing while maintaining their religious obligations at home. - Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram confirmed that Contact Tracing continues. - In terms of funerals, CMO Dr. Roshan Parasram said cremations and burials are allowed, but cremations must occur in a crematorium instead of an open area such as the Caroni or Waterloo cremation sites. - There has been a sharp reduction in calls to the COVID-19 Hotline. From April 14th to 20th, 954 calls were received on the Hotline. - Health Minister reiterated that Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley will consult with public health experts before making a decision on the reopening of schools or businesses. “Any talk at this time about opening anything is premature and will feed into a narrative in the public domain that is contrary to what we are trying to do, that is to keep people at home. The message coming out today should be one of caution, should be one of prevention of Community Spread and the only way we can do that is to stay home.”