By Prior Beharry
THE family of the 11th person to die of Covid-19 in Trinidad and Tobago is disputing a claim made by television host and former Miss T&T Kimberly Farrah Singh that she contracted the virus from the father (a primary contact) of the 11th person to die.
Stacy Pedro and Sarah Yacoob, the father’s daughter and granddaughter respectively, have categorically stated in Facebook posts that Singh did not contract the virus as she alleged. Singh said that she and the father are co-workers and he did not reveal that his son was Covid-19 positive.
In an interview with AZPNews.com, Singh, said she came into contact with a primary contact of the 11th patient to have died of Covid-19 in TT. Singh tested positive and is in home quarantine under supervision of the Ministry of Health.
Following the article, Yacoob, the daughter of the patient who died, said she wanted to clear the air.
On Facebook, she stated, “I’m the daughter of the 11th Covid19 death that was spoken about in this article and I’m also the granddaughter of the primary contact spoken about in this article.
“It says here that my Grandfather (the primary contact) was aware of my dad’s situation and was aware that he was positive and yet my grampa still came to work. However, that’s not the case.
“My dad went to get tested to follow precautionary measures and for the MOST of it, he was asymptomatic and therefore we didn’t jump to any drastic conclusions. When my dad went to get tested, he quarantined at home in his room and had no direct contact with the primary contact spoken about.
“The day my dad got his results stating he was positive, my grampa (the primary contact) left the workplace immediately to go get tested and quarantined at home for the 14 days. On August 27th, my grampa’s result came back NEGATIVE.
“This means that he could not have been a carrier nor could have transmitted the virus to anyone since he was not infected.
“This could’ve been a blessing in disguise because, yes they had to follow protocol and get tested because they were secondary contacts, but had they not done so, they would’ve been carriers of the virus and would’ve infected the workplace and by extension, other families.
“I’m writing this because it depicts falsified misrepresentation and I’d never want an innocent person’s character and reputation to be defamed because of a misleading article.”
And in a post replying to the story posted on AZPNews.com Facebook page, Pedro, the wife of the Covid-19 victim, said she was baffled by the interview with Singh.
Pedro said, “With all due respect, I was very confused and baffled when I read this interview as I am the wife of the 11th Covid death and the daughter of the primary contact you’re speaking about.
“When my husband went to get tested for Covid19 to follow precautionary measures, he was asymptomatic for the most of it.
“Therefore we didn’t jump to any drastic conclusions because we had no reason to. My husband still stayed at home for his quarantine period (without having direct contact with my father) until he got a call on Friday 14th saying he was Covid 19 positive.
“As soon as we got that call, we alerted my dad and he left work around lunch time and came home right away.
“We all went to get tested and my father (the primary contact you’re speaking about in your article) came back NEGATIVE. So I’m confused as to how he could’ve transmitted the virus knowing he was negative.”
