Trinidad and Tobago has confirmed its first two cases of the COVID-19 Delta Variant of Concern.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health disclosed that the first patient is a recently returned national who travelled to Trinidad from the United States.
It added that the second patient is a recently returned national who travelled to Trinidad from Mexico (transiting through Panama and Guyana).
The Ministry said as per existing quarantine protocols, the nationals provided negative PCR tests (which were taken 72-hours prior to arrival).
It added that the nationals were immediately placed into state-supervised quarantine, as per the protocol for unvaccinated adults.
As a result of the positive COVID-19 results from their seventh day swab, the persons were subsequently transferred and isolated in a state step-down facility.
The presence of these Delta variants were confirmed via gene sequencing at the laboratory of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies.
The Ministry of Health reminded as at July 16, the Government updated its quarantine protocols for persons entering the country.
These protocols state that all returning adults, who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, should spend 14 days in a state-supervised quarantine facility.
These entry protocols, the Ministry said, will continue to be implemented.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there have been confirmed cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in 142 countries.
Research has suggested that the Delta variant is more easily spread from person to person as compared to previous variants (estimated to be 2 to 4 times more transmissible than the original Wuhan lineage of the virus).
Additionally, evidence indicates that individuals who have contracted this variant may be prone to an increased risk of severe illness and hospitalization.
This variant may also lead to an increase in cases of COVID-19 in younger age groups and in those who have been previously infected.
Source :Loop Caribbean