By Sue-Ann Wayow
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO is now in the early stages of community spread of the more transmissible Delta variant of concern of the Covid-19 virus.
On Monday, Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said, “We can clearly say that we are now in a stage of community spread of Delta or in the early stages.”
Dr Parasam was speaking at the Ministry of Health’s virtual press conference on Monday and referred to Sunday’s confirmation of six new Delta cases, five of which had no travel history indicating that the virus variant was being circulated widely amongst the population.
In his thrust to encourage Covid-19 vaccination, Dr Parasram said, “That is the main thing that we need to focus on at this point. Getting those vaccination numbers across the country up as quickly as we can especially in light of the issue where we are seeing the Delta variant is now reaching to the stage that it can be stated that it is in community spread.”
The CMO also said that the persons who tested positive for the Delta variant were contacts of Covid-19 positive patients who have not yet tested positive for the Delta variant. Testing was ongoing and he noted that it takes two to three weeks to have the Delta sample returned to health officials.
He also noted that five of those cases were asymptomatic and the reason why they were detected was because of the relation to other positives and that the Delta variant moves quickly through the population undetected.
The total number of Delta cases being confirmed in Trinidad and Tobago is now 17.
