The COVID-19 variant that was recently discovered in Brazil can result in a rapid increase of cases in Guyana so with the aim of ensuring that this does not happen, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said that the land borders will remain closed.
However, Kid James, of the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC), says that cross-border travelling in some communities in the Rupununi has increased and the news of the more infectious COVID-19 variant is extremely alarming for that very reason.
The discovery of the variant has resulted in the UK banning travellers from Guyana and other parts of South America.
During yesterday’s COVID-19 update, Anthony said that the Brazilian COVID-19 variant is termed a ‘variant of concern’ because it’s believed to be more transmissible than other strains of the virus. He said that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) believes that this variant may already be in a number of South American states.
He noted that PAHO has 21 laboratories doing gene sequencing in the Americas and they were able to detect this variant in some South American countries.
The minister said that if this variant is more transmissible many people are going to get infected and that means that there will be a higher percentage of persons going to the hospital and to the Intensive Care Unit. “These are going to be the challenges if this variant circulates in our country,” he said.
Anthony said that the variant is still being investigated and there is a lot more work to be done before its specific characteristics can be determined.
Regarding the Government’s response to the virus, Anthony said that the Guyana/Brazil border has been closed for some time and will remain so until the situation changes.
“We are very concerned and because of its (the variant) close proximity to us we must pay attention to that. Our land border have been closed for some time. The bridge over the Takutu River has been closed so movement is restricted,” he said. He noted that they do allow limited interactions as on Thursday when supplies were brought to Guyana from Brazil and vice versa but this is done with the strict supervision of health authorities of both countries.
“If it’s a variant that is easily transmissible then we can easily see an increase in cases. The health authority in Region Nine have been alerted and they have been on the lookout for any changes in the epidemiological pattern,” he added. He noted that there are test kits in Region Nine and samples are sent out regularly to be tested in Georgetown.
Anthony said that there is the issue of people crossing the borders illegally and it is very difficult to monitor given the vastness of the area but the Joint Services have been working very hard to try and cover all the areas. He noted that the Brazilian authorities have also increased patrolling of the border.
Meanwhile, James said that the news of the variant which is currently creating havoc in a Brazilian town close to Region Nine is extremely alarming, especially since there has been an increase in illegal travels between Indigenous communities in the Rupununi and Brazil in the past few weeks.
He noted that even in the rainy season when the Takutu River is usually at a very high level, persons were crossing over the border and this had resulted in multiple cases in the South Rupununi. Now that it is the dry season high waters are no longer preventing people from travelling between Guyana and Brazil illegally.
“Since after Christmas the village council have been lax on ensuring that people adhere to what measures we have had in place and we have had seen an increase in cross border travel and that is worrying as you know so we have to go back to the bordering community to let them know what is happening,” he said.
James said that the SRDC is hoping to have an emergency meeting so that they can discuss how to deal with the developing situation.