March 4, 2022

PM Announces Relaxed Covid Protocols, Families Permitted To Travel Without Mask In Car

By Newsroom

From next Monday, March 7th, families will be able to travel in their private vehicle without wearing a face mask, as one of the relaxation in restrictions announced by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley in the Lower House today. Mask use will remain in force at this time in all public spaces and places where there is public interaction.

It comes as Dr. Rowley noted that the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths are thankfully on the decline, a trend he described as encouraging.

He revealed over the past two weeks, hospitalizations have gone from 40% to 31%.

These are the announcements which all come into effect on Monday:

Families will no longer be required to be masked in their vehicles. This change will also apply to marine vessels being used by families.

Mask use will remain in force at this time in all public spaces and places where there is public interaction.

Public transport will be allowed to return to 100% of capacity.

Mask wearing will continue to be required in vehicles being used for public transport, including vehicles in which persons are paying to be transported.

Removal of restrictions with respect to the length of time and numerical capacity at religious places of worship. Mask wearing will continue to be required during services at religious places of worship.

The number of persons permitted at graveside funeral services will be unrestricted but mask wearing is mandatory for the time being.

A reduction in quarantine time for unvaccinated nationals returning to Trinidad and Tobago. Quarantine time will be reduced from 14 to 7 days with discharge taking place on the receipt of a negative PCR test on the 7th day.

A decrease in the national quarantine time for contacts of positive cases from 14 to 10 days.

The Ministry of Health recently reduced the isolation time for positive patients from 21 days in all categories, to 10 days for persons with no symptoms and 13 days for those with moderate to severe disease. They will be discharged in accordance with the discretion of the County Medical Officers of Health;

Public gatherings of persons in groups of no more than 25 permitted

Team and contact sports allowed

Establishments currently allowed to operate as safe zones for vaccinated or exempted persons, and children under the age of 12, to operate at 75% capacity;

Provided that we do not have dangerous changes in our COVID-19 position, we will permit all children to return to physical schooling in term three. The Ministry of Education will put out the necessary guidelines to safely manage this process;

As of Monday 7th March, 2022, the public service will return to full service and ALL public servants will be expected to return to work as normal.

The Ministry of Health will be presenting a national pathway for the consolidation of the Public Health Service that would see the return of the Health System, and by extension Health Services, to an as-near-normal existence, as the country transitions from the acute phase to the endemic phase of COVID-19.

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