COVID-19 has claimed the life of one more person, taking the overall fatalities locally to 104.
In its update yesterday, the Ministry of Health said the victim was an elderly male with pre-existing medical conditions.
The ministry also confirmed 41 new infections yesterday but noted this was from samples taken from October 20-22. The latest cases brought the total number of infections since March 12 up to 5,487.
Despite the new infections, the number of active cases decreased following the release of 69 people from the ministry’s care. Some 16 people discharged from public health facilities while 53 were cleared following home self-isolation as recovered community cases—taking the number of people who have recovered from the virus to 3,945. The number of active cases now stands at 1,438, of which 1,317 are in home self-isolation, while there are 77 patients at hospital, 44 at step-down/transitional facilities and 266 in state quarantine.
Meanwhile, the T&T Police Service (TTPS) will be stepping up its monitoring of COVID-19 patients who are being home quarantined.
In a release yesterday, Acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob said officers had started the process of flagging persons suspected of breaching their quarantine orders.
He said the TTPS had initiated a pilot project which will be used as a guide to determine the scale of operations needed to fully implement this monitoring system.
“Police teams will wear full Personal Protective Equipment when they effect arrests of offenders. Otherwise, visits to verify compliance with quarantine continue to be performed by officers who wear masks and gloves, while maintaining a safe distance,” Jacob said.
“The special teams may be accompanied by health officials for the issuance of fresh orders in certain cases.”
To date, all of the persons who tested positive and were flagged and visited by the special teams were found at their quarantine location, the TTPS release noted.
Jacob reminded citizens that breaching their quarantine carries a fine of $6,000 or six months in prison.
He added: “Citizens are advised that police officers can enter premises without a warrant, to enforce compliance with the Quarantine Act and that the TTPS is prepared to prosecute those who breach the quarantine orders to the fullest extent of the law.”