- 16 APR 2020
Post-Cabinet Media Briefing – Thursday 16 April, 2020.
Prime Minister Dr the Hon Keith Rowley will chair a team tasked with creating a Road Map to Recovery for Trinidad and Tobago. The team is expected to draft a document by the end of May which will outline the way forward post COVID-19. The team will comprise of:
Chair: Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
Chair: Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
Vice Co-chairs: Minister of Public Utilities the Hon Robert Le Hunte and Businessman, Chairman of the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) Gerry Brooks
Members:
Minister of Public Administration and Minister in the Ministry of Finance the Hon Allyson West
Wendell Mottley- Economist and Former Minister of Finance
Robert Bermudez- Chairman, Bermudez Group of Companies
Karen Darbasie- President, Banking Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BATT)
Winston Dookeran- Economist, Former Minister of Finance and Governor of the Central Bank
Christian Mouttet- Chairman Prestige Holdings Limited
Colin Soo Ping Chow- Executive Chairman, Ernst & Young Caribbean
Sean Roach- CEO, Langston Roach Industries
Ronnie Mohammed- Businessman and Chairman, Caribbean Airlines
Vincent Pereira- Businessman, President of BHP Billiton Trinidad and Tobago and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Republic Bank Ltd
Vishnu Dhanpaul- Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
Alison Lewis- Former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
Gregory McGuire- UWI Energy Economist
Professor Karl Theodore- UWI Director of Health Economics Unit (HEU)
Dr Selwyn Hazel- Economist
Christopher Henry- Labour Representative of Joint Trade Union Movement
Michael Annisette- General Secretary- National Trade Union Centre of TT (NATUC)
Allan Warner- Businessman
Rhondall Feeles- President, Single Fathers Association of Trinidad and Tobago
UWI Professor Karl Theodore and a team from the Ministry of Finance have begun an analysis of the current impact of COVID-19 on the economy. The first draft of the report should be available by the end of April.
The Government will continue to be guided by the science and medical advice of the health care experts regarding the restrictions implemented to deal with COVID-19.
Minister of Health the Hon Terrence Deyalsingh has received a report from the Eastern Regional Health Authority on the chosen convalescent centre in Sangre Grande. The report has been sent to the legal department at the Ministry of Health for review.
The charitable organisation, Foundation for the Enhancement and Enrichment of Life (FEEL) has received the first tranche of 10,000 cloth masks. These masks will be distributed to members of the public free of charge. Minister Deyalsingh noted that pharmacies should not be selling N95 masks to the general public as they should be reserved for front line medical workers.
Fifty persons across various Regional Health Authorities will be trained to use the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines. These machines will be used to increase testing in the fight against COVID-19.
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association’s (TTFA) Home of Football building has been offered as a facility to treat recovering COVID-19 patients, at no cost to the Government. The facility which has the capacity to house 72 persons, will be operational in two weeks. The private sector has agreed to help outfit this step-down facility for free.
More than 38,000 Salary Relief Grant applications have been received and are in the process of being evaluated by the Ministry of Finance. A total of 4,161 applications were hand-delivered while 34,000 applications were submitted online.
