The most infectious Omicron sub-variant, called BA.5, was detected in Trinidad and Tobago last week.
Speaking during yesterday’s Ministry of Health’s virtual press conference, Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said it was discovered on Friday, while the BA.4 was detected the week prior. He said the BA.2 sub-lineage remains the current dominant strain in the country.
While the BA.5 has the higher infectivity rate, Dr Parasram said its presence does not yet warrant reversing the decision to lift the mask mandate come Sunday.
“The data suggest so far that we have, at least at this point in time, that yet they may be more infective in terms of transmissibility, none of the sub-lineages of Omicron have shown really to be more virulent, meaning that they don’t cause more severe disease,” he said.
“What we are concerned with most importantly at this point in the pandemic, we’ve been in it for two and a half years, is the impact on hospitalisation, the impact on the number of persons that have passed away due to the disease itself.”
As of yesterday, there were 95 people hospitalised with the disease. So while the CMO expects an increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 because of the variant, he is hopeful it doesn’t translate to an increase in hospitalisations or deaths.
“There’s always the concern with a brand-new variant coming out of nowhere, as we saw in November of 2021, where the last variant, Omicron, began in South Africa, so there is a concern, generally speaking, that the pandemic is still here with us,” he said.
This is why he expressed his hope people choose to wear their masks when the legal requirement is removed over the weekend.
Geneticist Dr Nicole Ramlachan also shared a similar perspective.
“You could protect yourself by obviously staying away from large crowds and, of course, by wearing masks. Even though the government-mandated mask law is being discontinued... that doesn’t mean you can’t protect yourself in the usual way,” she said.
Dr Ramlachan said the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants have taken over as the dominant strain of coronavirus in the countries where they were detected. Not only is the variant more transmissible, it’s also more able to evade immunity, even vaccine-induced.
Despite this, she said it does not negate the need for vaccination.
