TRINIDAD GUARDIAN- Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley is COVID-19 negative. A short statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, on Monday, stated that he tested for the virus and the result was negative. The Prime Minister began displaying symptoms on Easter Monday and was tested and diagnosed with the virus the next day.
Rowley was set to receive his COVID-19 vaccine alongside Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh on that same day but is now ineligible as he contracted the virus.
Rowley will not be able to receive his vaccination until October as patients recovered from COVID must wait six months before being inoculated.
Since his diagnosis, the Prime Minister has been working in isolation in Tobago and has kept the population updated on his condition through the Office of the Prime Minister.
During his time in isolation over the past three weeks, Rowley hosted virtual Cabinet meetings, met with an energy company and hosted meetings with CARICOM as its chairman. He also dealt with the relief aid to St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Prime Minister’s illness was not without drama. The OPM issued a media release on April 7, saying that Rowley had undergone an MRI at the Scarborough Hospital in Tobago, only for reports to surface that the MRI machine was not working. The Office later clarified that it was a CT Scan and not an MRI. In media reports, the Prime Minister said that he was surprised that he got the virus as he assumed that he was being careful.