Forty cases of the Brazilian variant of COVID-19 are recorded in this country.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram gave the statistics at the COVID-19 media conference yesterday.

The CMO also revealed new facilities are being prepared to accommodate COVID patients requiring Intensive Care.

Yesterday the death toll in country climbed to 294.

Nine more COVID-19 patients died.

The Ministry of Health said the dead are 4 elderly males, 1 middle-aged male, 2 elderly females and 2 middle-aged females, all with comorbidities

The Ministry counted 294 new positive cases.

The Ministry explained that these numbers represent samples taken during the period May 13^th to 16^th and not the previous 24 hours.

It said there are 388 persons in hospital while 10,370 have recovered.

The number of active cases in the country is 5,885.

In Tobago there are 33 positive cases at the Scarborough Regional Hospital at Fort King George and 1 positive patient at Scarborough Hospital in Signal Hill.

Twenty-three patients are at step down facilities in Tobago.

Five thousand and eighty-two people are in home self isolation.