Additional PCR testing will be administered to children entering T&T
Children entering Trinidad and Tobago when borders reopen on July 17 will need to have a PCR test between three and five days after entry, although they entered with someone who is fully vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health has published a comprehensive guideline document for border protocols on its website ahead of next Saturday’s reopening.
Within it are guidelines for three main categories of travellers who will be allowed into the country; fully vaccinated people regardless of nationality, unvaccinated nationals only, and children.
Travellers are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing the recommended dosing of a World Health Organization (WHO) approved vaccine. Those who meet this criterion will be required to present a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours before arrival into the country and provide proof of the vaccination. They will be allowed to forgo any quarantine.
For unvaccinated nationals entering the country, the process will resemble that of the one used for repatriations while the borders were shut. They, too, will need to provide a negative PCR test like the fully vaccinated travellers. But upon arrival, they will be immediately taken to a designated State Quarantine Facility for fourteen days. The cost of this stay, officials have said, will need to be borne by the traveller.
Within 24 hours of arrival, each passenger will undergo a medical assessment, which according to the document, “includes a medical history and PCR test for COVID-19 (swab) on the 7th day.” They will be monitored daily, and those who test negative and complete quarantine are allowed to go home. However, those who turn up infected during this quarantine period will be immediately transferred to a hospital in the parallel health care system for clinical assessment and assignment. Samples will also be sent for genetic sequencing to determine the strain causing the infection.
Unvaccinated passengers with a severe or critical illness will be quarantined at a hospital. Once they are stabilized or recover within 14 days, they will be transferred to a quarantine facility and treated like any other unvaccinated national returning.
However, if they require more than 14 days to recover or stabilize, they will be tested and transferred to a traditional hospital if they are negative. Passengers who test positive for COVID-19 (either upon arrival in Trinidad and Tobago or during the quarantine period) will be immediately transferred to a hospital in the parallel health care system for treatment.
Entry protocols for children under 18 will primarily be determined by the vaccination status of their parent or guardian they are travelling with. This is because he has not approved COVID-19 vaccines for use in children except for Pfizer-BioNTech’s Cominarty. But even this jab is only approved for use in children over age 12.
If a child is travelling with unvaccinated someone, then the child will undergo the same protocols as someone who is unvaccinated. If the adult is vaccinated, then the child will be treated to the same protocols as fully vaccinated. However, the child will have to repeat a PCR test between days three to five after arrival in the country. If it returns positive, it will be reported to the relevant County Medical Officer of Health, determining how to treat the case.
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