Advice published by the Chief Medical Officer on August 26 indicates that persons who are asymptomatic or display only mild symptoms of Covid-19 infection will now be allowed to self-quarantine at home.
This is a most welcome development, one that has been adopted by countries worldwide and a significant improvement on the strategy previously employed.
This now appears to clear the way for those nationals of T&T who have been stranded abroad for so long to finally return home without requiring a travel exemption.
The policy adopted by the Barbados authorities, or something similar, should now be put in place at all of our ports of entry. Persons returning should provide a negative test result from an approved testing facility prior to embarking. This may be forwarded to immigration authorities before departure to T&T. The test result should not be older than seven days.
Those unable to access such a test should be tested at the point of entry, at which point the authority may determine whether a quarantine is required or not. Mild symptoms should indicate home quarantine as now specified.
Those with negative test results should be allowed to return to their homes without further complication. In an abundance of caution, the MOH may request a seven-day self quarantine at home if desired.
It is about time that we relieve all of our unfortunate nationals who have been left in limbo abroad of the difficulties in which they have found themselves through no fault of their own.
Ken Jaikaransingh
Maraval
