THA Secretary of Health, Wellness and Social Protection Dr Faith BYisrael says she is extremely satisfied with the outcome of the first meeting of the covid19 task force.

BYisrael said the meeting, which she chaired virtually on Monday morning, brought together representatives of multiple sectors and associations, along with government officials.

“What we’ve done is expand it, because covid19 is affecting all of us. So we included people who were a part of the labour – not all of them, some of them from Tobago, everybody couldn’t come at all.

"We included people who were from the business community; people who were representing the fisherfolk; people who were representing the tourism agencies; people who were representing a holistic or alternative healings; and people who were from varying sectors.”

She said a wide cross-section of stakeholders will be involved in the process.

“So that larger task force is going to meet once a month, but we would break out into smaller working groups to ensure that everybody is a part of the discussion.”

Questioned whether there was any representation from the Office of the Minority Leader, BYisrael said a representative of PNM's Kelvon Morris attended on his behalf.

“We had a really good session. It lasted about two hours – a little over two hours and it was really, really good to ensure that we had a wide range of people being a part of the conversation.”

She added, "The aim is to critically review how we manage the pandemic, ensuring that the wants and needs of all involved are taken into account. Using a collaborative approach would ensure that we not only survive the pandemic, but come out of it stronger and more resilient.”

A press release from the division said 34 professionals participated in the meeting, which also addressed measures to reduce vaccination hesitancy.

It said at the end of the meeting, gaps were identified, and suggestions/recommendations were tabled for consideration and the necessary action.Asked by Newsday for her thoughts on Morris' 11-point proposal, announced on Sunday, to improve covid19 management, BYisrael said Marilon David, executive co-ordinator, Office of the Minority Leader, forwarded the proposal during the task force meeting.

"Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to look at it just yet...but the comments presented by Mr David seemed reasonable (nothing unique)...Some of the things we've already started doing (but may not have publicised)," she said via WhatsApp.

The secretary also went live on Facebook on Monday to launch a series aimed at assisting people with covid19. The series is a collaboration between the Division of Health, Wellness and Social Protection and Tobago Regional Health Authority. The inaugural video gives advice on breathing techniques. One of the symptoms of covid19 is shortness of breath. BYisrael said five videos were filmed and the others will be released during the week.

On Monday the division reported four new cases which took the island's active total to 1,156.

The island’s covid19 deat