Trinidad records six new Omicron cases

SOURCE: CMC- Trinidad and Tobago has registered six more cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic as the island also recorded 25 more deaths linked to the virus.

In its latest bulletin, the Ministry of Health said that six new Omicron cases, pushed the total number of cases to 11 and that three of the new cases were foreign nationals aboard an international ship which has already left local waters.

It said two were nationals with a recent history of travel and the case was a national with no history of travel.

“As a result of their positive COVID-19 results all patients have been isolated. The patients will remain in isolation until they meet the enhanced discharge criteria for persons with COVID-19 variants of concern. Additionally, contacts of the positive Omicron COVID-19 cases have been quarantined.”

The statement said that the presence of the Omicron variants were confirmed through gene sequencing at the laboratory of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI) and that “research has suggested that this variant is more easily spread from person to person as compared to previous variants but further information is needed on its impact on persons who contract this variant”.

The ministry said that to-date, 2, 793 people have died from the virus since the first case was reported in March last year and that there are 16, 723 active cases pushing the total number of positive cases to 90, 004.

There are 478 patients in hospitals across the country with 15,900 in home isolation and 60 in state sanctioned facilities.

The ministry said 664, 699 people are fully vaccinated, while 66, 979 others have received a booster shot.