Highly contagious delta variant arrives with returning nationals

Trinidad and Tobago confirmed its first two cases of the covid19 delta variant of concern on Wednesday. The variant was detected in two recently returned nationals who travelled from the US and Guyana.

In a release, the Health Ministry said the first patient is a recently returned national who travelled to Trinidad from the United States. The second came to Trinidad from Mexico (transiting through Panama and Guyana).

“As per existing quarantine protocols, the nationals provided negative PCR tests which were taken 72 hours prior to arrival. The nationals were immediately placed into state-supervised quarantine, as per the protocol for unvaccinated adults. As a result of the positive covid19 results from their seventh day swab, the persons were subsequently transferred and isolated in a state step-down facility on Wednesday.”

The ministry said the presence of the delta variant was confirmed via gene sequencing at the laboratory of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies.

“As the public is aware, this laboratory has been testing covid19 positive samples from TT and other Caricom member states since September 2020.”

The Health Ministry reminded the public that on July 16, 2021, quarantine protocols had been updated for people entering the country.

“These protocols state that all returning adults, who are not fully vaccinated against covid19, should spend 14 days in a state-supervised quarantine facility. These entry protocols will continue to be implemented.”

Speaking at the ministry’s covid19 media briefing on Wednesday, hours before the announcement was made, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh appealed to the public to get vaccinated before there was a crisis.

“I’m asking the public, don’t wait for the advent of some variant that you are now scared about, to then rush to the sites to be vaccinated. We have been talking about the inevitable discovery of the delta variant for over a month now. Get vaccinated.”

Deyalsingh said a month ago the Health Ministry held a meeting with Pan-American Health Organisation, the Caribbean Public Health Agency and the five Regional Health Authorities, to plan for the inevitable discovery of the delta variant in TT.

“We identified the various touch points, including the boosting of the Accident and Emergency response, and the boosting of the ICU response. Dr Richards was given a mandate by me directly to introduce our ICU capacity by 100 per cent in TT. We trained over 150 local nurses in ICU management last year, and we brought in 12 Cuban ICU nurses last year and 30 Cuban nurses this year. However, as we keep saying, a bed is not a bed, a bed needs people around it, and there may come a time, if the delta variant takes hold of the unvaccinated population and floods the hospital systems, no matter how much physical capacity you put there, there aren’t multiples of 100 per cent and 200 per cent of additional doctors and nurses and everything else. It doesn’t exist anywhere in the world, and you are seeing hospitals in countries near and far that are buckling with 150, 160 per cent capacity because of the delta variant, because people are now unvaccinated.”

“The answer is not necessarily more ICU, more nurses, more doctors, more training, because that is finite, that is limited, what is unlimited is the access to vaccinations, and the solution right now, as opposed to three months ago, is vaccinations.”

Dangerous delta

According to the World Health Organization, there have been confirmed cases of the delta variant of covid19 in 142 countries. This variant was first identified in India in December 2020.

Research has suggested that the delta variant is more easily spread from person to person as compared to previous variants, estimated to be two to four times more transmissible than the original Wuhan lineage of the virus.

The strain has mutations on the spike protein that make it easier for it to infect human cells. That means people may be more contagious if they contract the virus and more easily spread it to others.

Additionally, evidence indicates that individuals who have contracted this variant may be prone to an increased risk of severe illness and hospitalisation.

This variant may also lead to an increase in cases of covid19 in younger age groups and in those who have been previously infected.

According to the Centers for Disease Control in the US, the delta variant is more contagious.

It said some data suggest the delta variant might cause more severe illness than previous strains in unvaccinated persons, and unvaccinated people remain the greatest concern.

It said fully vaccinated people with delta variant breakthrough infections can spread the virus to others. However, vaccinated people appear to be infectious for a shorter period as their viral levels go down faster.