The Regional Health and Emergency Committee (RHEC) of Region Ten is currently at odds with the Mayor and Town Council (M&TC) over its decision to keep Linden’s markets open despite the dangers presented for the spread of novel coronavirus disease.
As a result, the RHEC has asked the national Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) to intervene in the matter.
According to a release issued by the RHEC, the issue was discussed several times and it was suggested to Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell that in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the region, social distancing practice needs to be enforced, which would include the closure of markets for three days a week to facilitate sanitising and to avoid gatherings.
Arrindell reportedly told the council that the M&TC will make every effort to sanitise the town but the markets will remain open every day as they are a main source of income for the council.
Regional Chairman Renis Morian expressed his disappointment with the M&TC’s decision, especially considering that Arrindell was one of the first persons to suggest that stringent measures be imposed on the region when the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Guyana. “I am lost as to the Mayor’s response as they seem not to understand the depth and extent of their refusal to close the markets. The markets cannot be so important that people’s lives and safety do not matter and the Council should be held accountable and responsible for their inaction on the issue,” Morian was quoted as saying.
The head of the RHEC Orrin Gordon expressed similar sentiments, adding that the closure of markets for three days a week will not result in a large sum of money being lost. Further, he said, while he understands that revenue is of paramount importance, the Mayor and her Council should remain cognisant that immediate and stringent action has to be taken as the safety and lives of residents are at risk given that the markets are not being monitored, thereby allowing persons to congregate in larger crowds more freely.
“I can tell you that there is no significant amount of revenue that comes in from the market where we observe persons in large numbers drinking hence, I don’t understand why the Council has not sought to proceed with the recommendations to close the markets on alternate days and ensure the markets are sanitized properly,” Gordon stated.
Meanwhile, President of the Linden Chamber of Commerce, Victor Fernandes, stated that all the committee is trying to do is ensure that persons are adhering to COVID-19 restrictions because at the markets, specifically, persons have been gathering in large crowds to drink alcohol.
