MP Hosein: Fix Travel Pass Now
Yesterday’s startling revelation by the Minister of Health that a passenger with a positive PCR test was allowed to enter Trinidad was an admission of the collapse of the TTravel Pass system. The Ministry of National Security implemented a system that makes it a mandatory requirement for persons who enter Trinidad and Tobago to be issued a TTravel Pass. As part of the application process to be issued a TTravel Pass, the applicant must upload the results of the PCR test and the results must reflect a negative test.
The Minister of Health admitted that the person entered the country with a positive PCR test on a flight from Panama. A person with a positive PCR test will not be issued a TTravel Pass. Therefore, the Minister of National Security must explain how a person with a positive PCR test was issued a TTravel Pass.
In addition, Minister Hinds must explain whether the Ministry verifies the information that a person submits in their TTravel Pass application before it is issued. This case has revealed significant inefficiencies, inadequacies, and a total lack of competence in handling the border control arrangements to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and its variants.
Had the system operated in an efficient manner, this most serious and unfortunate event would not have occurred. The heavy burden of this blame falls on the Minsters of Health and National Security. They must act with alacrity to ensure that this situation does not repeat itself. It has been over 24 hours since the country learnt of this devastating event and no announcement from either Minister Hinds or Minister Deyalsingh on the improvements to the TTravel Pass system. It must be remembered that they inhumanely locked out citizens for months but allowed a case of the Omicron variant to enter freely to our shores.