Dear Editor,
I refer to the article captioned `Airports say they are ready for passengers’ in SN October 12 edition, with particular reference to the Minister of Health’s statement that “If the PCR test is done within 72 hours of travel, the passenger will not be required to do another PCR test on arrival. If the PCR test is done within 4 to 7 day of travel, the passenger will be required to do a PCR test on arrival”. Clear so far. The same Minister in the Guyana Chronicle on October 12 in the article captioned “All set” stated “before you can even get on a flight you are required to have a PCR test at the point of origin. That test would have to be sent to us here in Guyana for us to validate it and once we are satisfied then we allow the airline to put you on the flight”. Juxtapose this statement with the earlier in SN and it couldn’t be more confusing.
Editor, if a passenger is tested negative for COVID-19 at the “point of origin” and permitted to board, it means all passengers on board have been tested negative. Secondly, which flight that originates from North America, except in rare connecting flights, takes 72 hours to reach Guyana; so it means that once tests are conducted from the “point of origin” all passengers on board are negative and all passengers’ tests were conducted within 72 hours.
What systems are in place that when tests are conducted at the “point of origin” for the validation process to be completed in Guyana? How long before departure time at the “point of origin” should passengers present themselves at the airport to have a PCR test done, a validation process done in Guyana and an approval from Guyana for passengers to board?
Editor, whilst Eureka Lab is “happy to offer this service” (PCR testing), it has already expressed its concern at this “uphill task”. Has the Lab ramped up its resources to meet this “uphill task”, or will it experiment to test its ability to meet this “uphill task”? Panic, frustration and confusion at the airport among waiting passengers seem to be an imminent likelihood.
I think the authorities need to bring clarity to this matter, and Eureka Lab needs to be definitive in its ability to meet the requirement of having PCR tests done, results analyzed and communicated to passengers; thus minimizing their waiting time at the airport, bearing in mind an average flight from North America takes 10 to 12 hours (boarding and flying time).
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
