New restrictions, including a month-long travel ban, were yesterday announced for Region Seven in the latest COVID-19 Emergency Measures, which also extend the national curfew for December but will allow for travel to Suriname to resume through Moleson Creek.
The special measures for Region Seven, intended to prevent the spread of the virus there, come as almost 100 new COVID-19 infections have been recorded in the region over the past month.
According to the measures, published in the Official Gazette yesterday, non-essential travel in or out of Region Seven has been restricted during the period of December 1st to December 31st and only essential travel in accordance with identified essential services will be permitted.
Additionally, gatherings are not allowed to exceed five persons and physical distancing guidelines are to be observed. The Regional Democratic Council is expected to ensure that government buildings, landings and transportation are sanitised.
The measures also say that the health minister, after epidemiological assessments of the situation in the region, may impose any other measure necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.
On October 31, there were 375 infections recorded in the region. Up to yesterday, the infections stood at 471 according to the latest Ministry of Health COVID-19 dashboard.
In that same time, infections in Region Four, the country’s most populous region, have climbed from 1941 to 2459, representing an increase of 518 cases. However, no special measures were announced for the region.
Meanwhile, the new measures appear to acknowledge recent criticism of the government’s management of the pandemic response, including the previous reduction of the curfew hours.
The nationwide curfew, from 10.30pm to 4am, has been in place since the start of last month, when the hours was reduced as part of the gradual reopening of the country. However, new infections have been occurring at a steady rate and the death toll has been rising.
In a recent travel health notice, the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) listed Guyana as a country where there is a very high risk of contracting COVID-19 and has warned against travelling here.
Guyana was placed on the “Level 4: Very High Level of COVID-19” list along with over 160 other territories/destinations, including Suriname, Barbados, Brazil, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The Level 4 notice says that travellers should avoid all travel to those countries or territories listed.
The new measures also permit travel to neighbouring Suriname through the Moleson Creek Crossing from December 12th . The operators and passengers are expected to comply with the port health measures issued by the health ministry.
In addition, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority have now been added to the list of essential services. In the case of the former, all of the services that will be permitted to operate—hotels, resorts and tour companies—will have to comply with safety protocols issued by the GTA. Additionally, those operators are responsible for ensuring that their staff and clients comply with the health and safety protocols issued by GTA and the Ministry of Health.
The measures state that the GTA will be responsible for monitoring those services and if any of the services that are allowed to operate under the authority fail to comply with the required protocols the Minister of Health may close the operation of the business or prohibit activities.
Recently, the National COVID-19 Task Force Secretariat announced that it had issued warnings to 42 businesses about breaches of COVID-19 protocols after it faced condemnation from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) over a warning issued to the Palm Court Restaurant and Bar over breaches. Other establishments, such as the Sleep In Hotel, the Status Steak House, the Baroombar Night Club, and Rio Night Club, were also issued warnings.
Restrictions also remain on the holding of parties, the operation of bars and rum shops and cinemas, except drive-ins, under the new measures.
