Fifteen residents of Brooklyn Settlement, Sangre Grande, who participated in a protest on Friday night over the setting up of a quarantine facility in their community, could now be arrested for gathering in a large group in a public space.

The facility houses 17 COVID-19 recovering patients, who were recently transferred from the Couva Hospital.

In a statement on Saturday, Police Commissioner Gary Griffith condemned the incident, saying “You have your right to protest, but we need to understand that your right could never supersede and override the laws of Trinidad and Tobago or the rights of others.”

Hours earlier, at a virutal media conference, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh urged residents in the area to treat “humanely” with situation, saying “The people who have COVID-19 did not bring it upon themselves and we have to be compassionate at this time.”

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram also assured that the facility did not represent a threat the community, noting that “We go to lengths to ensure that the site is so laid out that there’s a certain distance between the edge of the property and even the dwellings within so that there can be no spread.”

Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, Anil Juteram, is assisting the police in their investigation.