by Linda Straker
- Man and his family who are UK nationals, boarded an Air Canada flight before start of 24-hour mandatory curfew
- Decision was unknown to health authorities in Grenada
- Departure in violation of the Public Health Act
Health authorities have confirmed that one of Grenada’s nine Covid-19 confirmed patients has sneaked out of the country on an international flight.
He is one of 2 people who sat within close proximity to the index patient who arrived on a flight from the United Kingdom on 16 March 2020.
“We have information that one person left with their family,” said Dr George Mitchell who is the Coordinator of the Covid-19 Response Committee. Speaking as a virtual guest on the Grenada Broadcasting Network (GBN) daily “To-the-Point” programme, he said that the man left the island with his wife and child. He did not say when the man departed.
All persons tested positive for Covid-19, are placed in home quarantine once the symptoms are displayed. This is in keeping the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for home quarantine. They are required to keep in contact daily with the relevant health authorities.
Dr Mitchell, who is the immediate former Chief Medical Officer, did not provide details about the man on the programme, but research later revealed that the man’s decision was unknown to health authorities in Grenada. It is understood that the man and his family who are UK nationals, boarded an Air Canada flight before the start of the 24-hour mandatory curfew.
Grenada has accommodated several international airlines to arrive at the Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) only for outgoing passengers mainly to Canada and the United States. There was an Air Canada flight on 24 March and one on 31 March. Grenada began the mandatory curfew on 30 March.
Dr Mitchell said that since this particular Covid-19 patient sneaked out, his local contact tracing has been robust. “It’s detective work,” he said. As a result of the departure of the patient which was in violation of the Public Health Act, Grenada’s current Covid-19 count stands at 8.
The index case, who is a 50-year-old female, infected 5 other family members who according to Dr Mitchell, are recovering.
They should have held the passport. All
they can do is alert the Canada authority so he won’t go infecting others, some people are so selfish
I totally agree the authorities screwed up big time. The minister of health said that ppl who were under self quarantine were monitored 24/7. It sure doesn’t look so. This is why self quarantine is a big risk. Putting more lives at risk and more tedious work for health workers and contact tracers. This one less confirmed case could be a blessing or a nightmare for grenada.
They need to start to take these ppl passport when they are imported cases….utter disgust no regards for other persons lives…they should jail they ass
I must certainly have to agree with Ricardo. This was a selfish act by this UK nationalIt’s! They should have been placed on a no-fly list. I hope that the RGPF has informed CBSA & the Uk authorities of this selfish act. As the only way they would’ve been allowed entry into Canada would to have been to provide false information on their immigration form! This crime should have them bard/banned from entering Grenada and Canada ever again. I’m sure the US authorities would be interested in this as well ???
Obviously this person pretended to be obedient to the protocols, yet decided to sneak out. The Govt isn’t to be blamed for decisions like this… and the fact that they “found out” means that they are following through and they were not able to hide the information. What is unfortunate is that this individual not only broke the law, but put several other persons (airport personnel, security, etc) at risk as well. This now means that the “contact tracing” will have to be extended to include the airport personnel as well as persons who too, this family to the airport (was it a taxi operator)? These people have family as well… just this simple action can cause our lockdown to be extended as we now have so many other persons potentially infected by this one action – stewps! ♂️
How such a thing could happen in a time like this when they should be in corinthine and under supervision, I would like to know the date this persons left Grenada because I was on the flight on the 26 March I am so disappointed
Yes iit is a sad situation. But the Grenadian Authority has a large psrt of the blame to shoulder. He did not justt sneak out. He had to clear immigration and go through the Air Canafa ticketing and reservations sydtem.. Someone who is positive with COVID-19 and is quarantined should have been guarded, It was only a few people to guard. There is no such thing as self quarantine in this situation. The Grenadian Authorities failed miserably in this situation. There ought to have been a system in place so that a red flag is raised when an individual like that try to travel without permission from the authorities. Plain and simple. The Grenadian Authorities screwed up.
Ricardo Trotman
I disagree. The people who are self-quarantined are not in Police lockup, because they are not breaking the law. This is happening all over the world, the process of self-quarantine, and daily check-in with authorities. If you intend to beat the system, you can – but you will be found out. Police cannot publish names of ill persons to the immigration officials – that also is contravening their personal rights. Maybe now that there is a “state of emergency” they may be allowed to pass a law that allows this. People in quarantine have to receive supplies, food and water, and meds. If you are trying to sneak around, you can – but you will eventually be found out. Grenada is small – so by the time someone “checks-in” with medical officials, then heads to the airlines to check in and leave, its easy to sneak out of a small island within a few hours before an alarm is raised. Individuals need to be more responsible. We need to hold each other responsible and stop looking towards the Govt to blame. I’m not a supporter of the Govt, but they are doing the best they can. Grenada has even been recognized internationally for the most positive and aggressive approach along with a few other islands. The people just need to cooperate
Grenada authorities screwed up big time.
In some countries he would be charged as follows.
1: Armed with a dangerous weapon
2: Breach of WHO and PAHO and MOH Heath Act
3: Wreckless endangering of the life of each passenger on the flight including the crew
4: Endangering the lives of Grenada’s security force (immigration)
5: Endangering the lives of airline and security staff
6: Failure to comply with the local health authorities instruction
Happy he left Grenada but this makes us look very unprofessional. Maybe we should have a special building for all Covid -19 cases under strict security.
If that individual supposed to be quarantined , shouldn’t he/ she be flagged on the airport before departure ? What level of security do we have? It’s pure incompetence or a failure to integrate relevant departments