With COVID-19 cases in Region Seven now recorded at over 200, Bartica Mayor Gifford Marshall says that mining should be halted in the hotspots within the region in order to curb transmission, especially since many of the cases in the town originated from gold mining areas.
During an interview with Stabroek News yesterday, Marshall revealed that the number of COVID-19 cases in the region has exceeded 200, while Bartica, on its own, recorded five deaths to date with the possibility of that number increasing. Additionally, he said the relatives of people who have died in Bartica earlier this month are still awaiting their test results.
“Regrettably, we have persons who were swabbed and eventually died and we did not get back their results and the families… members are distraught and in some cases, explanations are not being given to them and all they are hearing is that they have to wait on results and that is the frustrating thing for the family because you have to deal with the death of loved one and now they have to go through the trauma of not knowing when you’re going to bury your loved one and how to coordinate,” he said.