Covid counter: 17 new cases reported; state quarantine facilities at 75% capacity
The Ministry of Health reported 17 new positive cases of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. So far for the month of December, there have been 248 confirmed cases of the virus. In total, the ministry has reported 6,917 positive cases since March.
There were, however, no new deaths reported and the death toll remains at 123.
The ministry confirmed that 27 patients were in hospital, with 2 in the intensive care unit at Couva hospital. There are 23 patients in step-down facilities and 259 in state quarantine facilities.
Photo: A patient under quarantine.
Speaking at the health ministry’s media conference, acting principal medical officer Dr Maryam Richards said the state quarantine facilities are at 75% capacity. Asked how repatriation exercises could impact quarantine resources, Dr Richards said that among other criteria, repatriation flights were timed based on the availability of space at
Abdool-Richards: Seven recent covid19 cases among repatriated nationals
Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards reported that seven recent cases of covid19 were found among repatriated nationals.
She was explaining the need for careful regulation of the return of citizens from severely affected countries.
Responding to questions from reporters during the Ministry of Health s virtual covid19 update on Wednesday, Abdool-Richards, principal medical officer in charge of health institutions, said they were among 50 new cases recorded between Tuesday and Wednesday.
She also said the availability of beds was only one criterion the ministry considered for repatriating citizens, and stressed the need to prevent facilities from being crowded and unmanageable by authorities. Up to the time of the media conference, she said, they were already at 75 per cent capacity.