Opposition parliamentarian Dr Karen Cummings on Wednesday stated that the former APNU+AFC coalition government managed the COVID-19 pandemic in a timely manner and left the new health minister with “a good pitch and wicket to bat” in the public health sector.
Dr Cummings made these remarks on Wednesday during the 2020 national budget debate at the Arthur Chung Conference, a day before Health Minister Frank Anthony would pillory the former administration’s stewardship of the health sector and say it compromised the response COVID-19.
Cummings, however, claimed that the former government managed the pandemic in a “timely, methodical, strategic and structured way.” She said that upon identifying the index case of the virus in the country, the coalition government organised and mobilised all sectors of the government in an attempt to provide ministerial action plans, containment measures and other interventions to mitigate the effects of the global pandemic. She went on to say that the National COVID-19 Task Force sprang into action and weekly meetings were held to coordinate effective and efficient containment measures to identify gaps and offer solutions to the crisis.
Dr Cummings informed that there was intense training provided by both the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Ministry of Public Health, which she noted was useful in building the capacity of health professionals and further allowed for the efficient management of the health sector during the pandemic.
“Mr Speaker, a Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, was built in record time to allow for the quarantine and isolation of susceptible and vulnerable individuals,” she stated while adding that the former government expected that the new government would endorse the initiative and build on the foundation that they were able to build.
Further she remarked that the new health minister has stated that he has a plan, however, the coalition notes that the minister was solely responsible for the steep rise in cases. “An increase in 438% in cases, an increase in 280% of deaths. We’ll reinforce the point that the buck stops at the honorable minister,” she said. Additionally the former minister mentioned that Guyana’s case fatality rate is almost similar to that of the United States and stands at 3% while the positivity rate stands at 17% and should be around 5%. She mentioned that the Guyanese populace would like to see the curve flatten as soon as possible and as such aggressive campaigns by the ministry of health should be undertaken to ensure that there is effective contact tracing in every region.
“There must be a more strategic and targeted approach to address this immediate concern of COVID-19 pandemic,” she opined. She further noted that with the rise in cases the new government may find it difficult to streamline public health and handle other pressing issues within the sector.
Meanwhile, Dr Cummings noted that while there is still much work to be done in the public health sector, former health minister Volda Lawrence should be thanked. “I must say thanks to Ms Volda Ann Lawrence, the former public health minister because the now Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony has a good pitch and wicket to bat,” she stated as she urged Dr Anthony not to “take Guyana backward” and to continue with other projects that are to be completed. She noted that Guyana is on the cusp of being declared free of filaria and the last round is expected to begin in October through to November 2020.
Dr Cummings told the house that the coalition would like to see the continued timely screening for cervical and colonic cancers along with other non-communicable diseases. She went on to say that as the tobacco bill was passed successfully under the APNU+AFC tenure, she urged the minister to ensure that the tobacco council is established to ensure that the relevant laws in relation to the bill are kept and followed.
“Mr Speaker, in our taking the reign we inherited a suicide rate of 34.7 per 100,000. But by 2017 the rate was 24.63 per 100,000. By 2018 the rate fell even more, 18.88 per 100,000” she remarked while adding that the coalition government utilised the correct approach to lessen the suicide rate which moved the country from having the highest suicide rate per capita in the region.
The former minister noted that efforts must be made by the new government to ensure the health and wellbeing of the Guyanese populace and to ensure that the three main pillars for optimal health care are kept.
