REGION – T&T top cop tests negative for Covid

CMC – Trinidad and Tobago’s Police Commissioner, Gary Griffith, Monday said he had tested negative for COVID-19 after he held a meeting with a person who was a secondary contact of another person suspected of being infected with the virus that has infected 182 people.

Griffith said that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) has been the frontline state agency since the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in March.

“This just shows how susceptible the TTPS is due to the mandatory interaction with the public. Since the closure of our borders and the enforcement of the Public Health Ordinance Regulations in March, the men and women of the TTPS have been out there ensuring that members of the public adhere to the rules.

“We have been interacting with the public on the regulations ensuring that they do the right thing, and at the same time, doing our normal duties of protecting the citizens. We have continued with our anti-crime measures and as you can see, we have been very successful, especially during the lockdown period. Over the weekend alone, we seized 15 firearms and a wide assortment of ammunition at different locations,” he added.

Griffith said that given their interaction with the public, police officers are open to “possible exposure to persons with the virus or their secondary and primary contacts.

“We have engaged the men and women of the TTPS to be extra careful as we are now seeing community spread and no longer imported cases. We have ensured that our officers wear their masks and sanitize themselves on a regular basis. We have also limited visitations at police stations and departments”

Over the past two weeks, the TTPS has had to temporarily close the Police Administration Building in the capital, as well as other police stations in some parts of the country for sanitization after persons tested positive for COVID-19.

So far, two police officers have tested positive for COVID-19.

On Monday, health authorities confirmed that several primary schools had been forced to close as a result of the virus. Trinidad and Tobago has recorded eight deaths.

Source: CMC