Post Cabinet Media Briefing - Thursday April 16th 2020

KEY POINTS FROM POST CABINET MEDIA BRIEFING - THURSDAY APRIL 16TH 2020: Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram confirmed that 63 persons remain hospitalised for COVID-19. CAURA: 11 COUVA: 52 (1 in HDU and Stable, and 51 Ambulatory and Stable) SANGRE GRANDE STEP DOWN FACILITY: 23 Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh confirmed receiving the Report from the Eastern Regional Health Authority on the selection of the Sangre Grande Step Down Facility. The Report has since been passed to the Ministry's Legal Department. Further information has been requested from the ERHA. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram said T&T has enough facilities at the moment to treat all COVID-19 patients. However, patients with Mild symptoms could be treated at home if numbers increase locally. The Foundation for the Enhancement and Enrichment of Life (FEEL) received 10,000 face masks to distribute to the public. These cloth masks are free to the public. PM Dr. Keith Rowley said Government has been making adjustments along the way to stop the spread of COVID-19 and will decide whether more measures should be taken. Any announcement will come well before April 30th - when measures in the current Public Health Ordinance come to an end. Finance Minister Colm Imbert: Just over 38,000 applications received for the Salary Relief Grant (34,000 online and 4,161 hand-delivered). These applications are now being evaluated. The TTFA Home Of Football has been offered as a facility to treat recovering COVID-19 patients, at no cost to the Government. The facility was found to be suitable to house recovering patients. It can accommodate 72 people. The private sector was approached to help outfit Home For Football for patients. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley acknowledged the anxiety of parents whose children are expected to write the SEA Exam this year. He also acknowledged the unique circumstances the world is in due to the onset of COVID-19. He said education remains a priority. PM Rowley on anxiety over SEA Exams: “This is where we have to let our anxiety be tempered by the science and let the decisions be made by the science and by the Public Health experts who give us the best advice available, and that is the advice the Government takes.” PM Rowley said a COVID-19 assessment will be done for the month of April, and this will inform Government’s decision on measures to protect T&T in the coming months. He said: "There is no country that has been exposed to this virus and has come out of it expressing victory." PM Rowley on calls for State of Emergency: “What does a State of Emergency bring to this fight? It brings additional powers for the police. It brings a reduction in your rights and privileges under the Constitution. That’s all. Nothing else, because what you have to do to respond to the virus will not change.” PM Rowley urged police to swiftly deal with COVID-19 partiers. PM Rowley: “We don't know what this virus will leave us with. What we do is that we have a resilient population in a part of the world that is attractive and desirable as any other and the assignment will be for those of us in these islands to pick up the pieces, whatever they might be, face our challenges, build a new pathway and begin to rebuild our lives post COVID-19.” PM Rowley to chair Committee tasked with developing a Post COVID-19 Road Map To Recovery. The Committee includes Minister Robert Le Hunte (Vice Chair), Gerry Brooks (Co-Chair), along with Minister Allyson West, Wendell Mottley, Robert Bermudez, Karen Darbasie, Winston Dookeran, Christian Mouttet, Colin Soo Ping Chow, Sean Roach, Ronnie Mohammed, Vincent Pereira, Vishnu Dhanpaul, Allison Lewis, Gregory McGuire, Karl Theodore, Selwyn Hazel, Christopher Henry, Michael Annissette, Allum Warner, and Rhondall Feeles.