By Prior Beharry
TWO people have been discovered with the Delta Variant of Covid-19 in Trinidad and Tobago.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Health in a press release on Wednesday.
These are the first two cases to be confirmed in T&T.
The ministry revealed that the first patient was a recently returned national who travelled to Trinidad from the United States.
The second patient is a recently returned national who travelled to Trinidad from Mexico (transiting through Panama and Guyana), it noted.
The release stated, “As per existing quarantine protocols, the nationals provided negative PCR tests (which were taken 72-hours prior to arrival).
“The nationals were immediately placed into State-supervised quarantine, as per the protocol for unvaccinated adults. As a result of the positive Covid-19 results from their 7th day swab, the persons were subsequently transferred and isolated in a state step-down facility.
“The presence of these Delta variants were confirmed via gene sequencing at the laboratory of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies.
“As the public is aware, this laboratory has been testing Covid-19 positive samples from T&T and other CARICOM member states since September 2020.
The release stated that as at July 16, 2021, the Government updated its quarantin protocols for persons entering the country.
It stated, “These protocols state that all returning adults, who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19, should spend 14 days in a State-supervised quarantine facility.
“These entry protocols will continue to be implemented.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been confirmed cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 in 142 countries.
The release noted that research suggested that the Delta variant is more easily spread from person to person as compared to previous variants (estimated to be two to four times more transmissible than the original Wuhan lineage of the virus).
Additionally, evidence indicates that individuals who have contracted this variant may be prone to an increased risk of severe illness and hospitalisation, it stated.
According to the ministry, the Delta variant may also lead to an increase in cases of Covid-19 in younger age groups and in those who have been previously infected.
