Even as the number of infections continues to skyrocket in Guyana, persons still continue to function as if the COVID-19 pandemic does not exist. As of October 8, Region Three has recorded 248 COVID-19 cases and is shown to be the fifth leading region in Guyana for coronavirus infections.
Region Three is the third most inhabited region in Guyana with 107,416 residents. However, what is even more intriguing is that residents of Region Three traverse Region Four, especially the city, more than any other region in Guyana. Region Four accounts for almost half of the country’s cases which has left residents of Region Three baffled as to whether there may be many other cases that remains unknown, After all, logic suggests that with so much exposure to the most infected region, there should be more cases of infection.
It is concerns like these along with that of persons being unconcerned about the virus and returning to daily routines as if nothing is threatening the country that is worrisome for those who still try to abide by COVID guidelines.
Stabroek News spoke to five persons living in different villages along the West Bank of Demerara about their observations concerning attitudes to the COVID-19 pandemic
Queacy Benjamin, an ambulance driver who is attached to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) resides in La Parfaite Harmonie, Canal Number One.
“First they were more cautious about COVID but it is becoming the new normal for people it seems. Today I passed a man with a mask behind his head. People are socialising without masks. Some people are still of the opinion that COVID doesn’t exist,” bemoaned Benjamin.
The driver believes that people are still behaving lawlessly because they were never affected by the virus nor have they seen any of their relatives and friends contracting COVID. He is of the opinion that these are the kinds of people who would rather a ‘wake-up call’ before they ‘pull their socks up’.
“When you’re working in the health sector like I am, you’ll look at the pandemic differently. I would have a sneak-peak of COVID from time to time,” the man shared. There are times when he would have to transport persons from their homes to a quarantine facility. He noted that these are often suspected cases meaning that they would have symptoms of COVID whether a cough, cold and/or temperature. As a result they would be institutionally quarantined while waiting for their results. They are not always positive.
While his health is important, he is more conscious of his socialising and sanitising for the sake of his family. He has a wife and three sons, the eldest of whom is asthmatic and only needs to contract a simple cold before he finds himself in an emergency room receiving oxygen. As a result, they do not frequent public places and they always remember to wear their face masks properly and use hand sanitizers when necessary. Since he works at the hospital, he is always provided with sanitisers.
Yet, while some remain delinquent in the wearing of their face masks, there are those who are not well-informed as it relates to when they are free to not wear masks when in public. “Sometimes I would drive past security guards at schools sitting in guard huts alone and they are still wearing their masks. I don’t wear my masks 24/7. Like when I’m riding my motorcycle or if I’m driving the ambulance and I’m the only person in the vehicle, I would not wear it,” explained Benjamin.
He further noted that he cannot understand why it is that persons are not as informed as they should be when he has noticed that whenever watching his television, a COVID ad appears onscreen “every five minutes”.
Public transportation
Canal Number Two resident, Nazima Mohamed, pointed out her first concern to be that of public transportation. “People in public transportation are not adhering to social distancing guidelines. Some persons including drivers are not wearing face masks. People are not that health conscious. At first people were cautious but now that they are getting accustomed to the virus being here, they don’t care anymore,” posited Mohamed.
Owing to the rise in cases, the second year International Relations, University of Guyana student stated that this is as a result of many persons not being as seriously bothered as they should be. As such, she said, this disorderly way of life is a huge deterrent to Guyana returning to normalcy anytime soon.
Ardent Christians, Mohamed and her family attend church in Goed Fortuin. To get to and from church, they would hire taxis to avoid having to take public transportation. Mohamed when questioned whether COVID guidelines are being followed at her church responded that they were. She noted that members are wearing their face masks and seated six feet apart except for persons from the same households who are allowed to sit with each other.
Hairstylist/beauty specialist, Ally Leca, is a single mother of two children. They live in Vreed-en-Hoop. Up until the pandemic, Leca was working at a salon in Georgetown as it was more convenient for her customers but since the national COVID order has allowed salons to reopen, she returned to the salon at her residence which she had first begun operating out of. The building from which she operates her business also caters for a dental service which she rents to a dentist there.
According to the woman, both she and the dentist are trying their best to prevent the spread of the virus and as such, they are only providing services based on appointments so as not to have persons arriving and having to wait on another client. She noted that they have taken the necessary precautions to often sanitise their commercial spaces and wear their face masks. The dentist always wears her gown.
Her appointments are made around her children’s school time. The hairstylist said that she is happy that teaching is provided virtually as she cannot imagine having to send her six-year-old son to school. Despite school being provided virtually by the children’s teachers, Leca said that she still needs to be there to see that work is being done.
Leca who has settled to working from home rarely takes public transportation and when she does, it is often to the supermarket. She has an utter distaste for the sink outside of her supermarket explaining that she does not like the idea of touching the same pipe others have. To avoid this, she always carries her personal sanitizer which she ensures she uses when entering the supermarket.
She points out while the speedboats operating the Vreed-en-Hoop/George-town route are carrying less passengers with three persons to a seat, they have stopped sanitizing the hands of persons entering the boats.
Without a job
Jamie George, a cashier at Space Gym situated in the Status Hotel in Georgetown, returned to her community in Region Seven a week ago. Up until then she lived at Belle West Housing Scheme. She has been without a job since the beginning of the lockdown.
“People are not following precautionary measures and whenever I go out on the road which is not very often but when I do I see people still gathering in crowds… They are not being serious about this pandemic. I don’t see much people wearing their masks properly, they’re wearing their masks off of their noses or under their chins,” George shared of her observations as it relates to Region Three.
Regarding her and her family staying safe, George said they do not venture outside of their home unless they are out of necessities and when they do, they always wear their face masks and remember to sanitise their hands. In addition, they do not entertain relatives and friends in keeping with social distancing.
The cashier said that she is awaiting word from her boss on when to return to work. The gym, she added, has increased its ventilation and the owner is waiting for the green light to reopen. George shared that according to what she has heard, her boss is expecting to hear about the reopening of gyms any day now.
Former West Demerara Secondary student, Kayla Bob, who recently sat the Caribbean Secondary Edu-cation Certificate (CSEC) examination has been so concerned about people’s approach to the pandemic, that she was contemplating whether she should highlight this issue on her social media page when she was contacted by this newspaper. This was all the encouragement she needed.
“I’m very concerned for those individuals that are living in Guyana especially Region Three. First-off, transportation; majority of individuals are not submissive to the COVID rules. Sometimes I think that these people don’t care if they die or live. Some of them are still doubting that there is no pandemic and it’s just a political gimmick…,” Bob said.
The teen who resides at one of the villages in Canal Number Two noted that people of her village are breaching the curfew adding that the drivers pack their cars with passengers “like sardines in a tin”.
The cars she spoke of are the ones that are parked at the Stanleytown Junction which transport passengers throughout Canal Number Two. Just about all of the drivers there have been observed carrying four passengers in the backseat and two in the front passenger seat, a total of six passengers. The pandemic has not changed this one bit.
Bob also spoke of venturing out of her yard one day and witnessing a resident in the area entertaining a large gathering. Seeing the numerous vehicles parked out front, she enquired whether there was a wedding.
Asked how she passes the time, the teen said she would provide virtual tutoring for children adding that she only leaves her home when running errands.
She further reiterated that people are not concerned about their health and don’t value their lives or the lives of others, a stark commentary on the prevailing attitudes in Region Three, and other parts of Guyana.
