By Pamela Ramcharan
A parent of an 11-year-old boy who tested positive for Covid-19 after a repatriation flight from Canada has commended doctors and nurses at the Caura Hospital.
Both mother and child returned to Trinidad and Tobago (TT) on July 17.
The mother gave an account of the process they had to undergo when they arrived at the Piarco International Airport.
“We landed at Piarco International Airport at 10 pm. We did not get to a hotel until 3 o’clock the next morning. We never went inside the airport. We did everything on the tarmac: customs, immigration, everything was done on the tarmac. Even getting our luggage was done on the tarmac it was very tiring,” she said.
She said, “After that we went into our hotel. We stayed in our hotel. Monday morning they came to do the swab so they swabbed my son and they swabbed myself. They were knocking on the door, you came out and a team did your swab, but this one they did was not the nasal swab but the one in the throat and pretty much that was it.”
The parent said, “On Tuesday night, I got a call asking for my son so I said what is it about because he is under age so they told me that he had tested positive which is kind of ridiculous.”
She told AZPNews.com that she was shocked and in disbelief as she tried to recall where he could have contracted the virus.
She said, “Since we were in Canada on school lockdown in March, he did not go anywhere he was in his room he never had any play dates he didn’t have anyone by us. We didn’t carry him anywhere since March. We were very very cautious.”
The parent alleged, “The only place that he could’ve pick that up would have to be in the airport because even when we were in the airport, they pulled him out of the line and said it was a random check. No protocols in the airport, no sanitiser. You had to take all your stuff and put it in the bin so there was no proper protocol at the airport in Canada so that’s the only place he could’ve picked this up if he did get it there”.
When they were to be taken to the Caura Hospital, she said, “We had to go in full PPE outfits. They sanitised our stuff and thing and they put us in a ward. At one time, it would’ve just been my son and myself and when we reach to check the pressure, temperature and stuff like that, he never had any symptoms and up to this day he has never had any symptoms.”
With regards to the treatment, the parent told AZPNews.com, “Every day they would pass and check blood pressure and temperature. No fever no cough no sneezing no nothing.”
However, she said, “He was not given any medication whatsoever. In fact, my mom had to send things like vitamin C and stuff for us to build his immunity. We got no medication… it is that because he probably had no symptoms no coughing no fever no nothing.”
She commended the medical staff saying, “At the Caura facility. The doctors and the nurses they were really nice, accommodating. The pediatrician came regularly.”
