With Region Four accounting for the majority of continuing COVID-19 infections and deaths to date, Chairman Daniel Seeram believes that more stringent measures, including a lockdown, should be put in place to combat the spread of the virus but he says several appeals to the COVID-19 Task Force to take action have so far been in vain.
Seeram told Stabroek News on Friday that among the recommendations he has made to the Task Force during his appeals has been a lockdown of Region Four, a reinstitution of the 6pm to 6am curfew, a reduction of the number of passengers allowed on public transportation vehicles from 100 to 40 % and the reinstatement of a shift-system for public service workers.
He stated that it is no secret that COVID-19 cases in Region Four have sky-rocketed, with hundreds testing positive every week. He added that although the National COVID-19 vaccination campaign is currently underway and the response has been great, it is sad to see persons continuing to die from the virus.
Up to Friday, there had been a total of 46 deaths for April.
Region Four has recorded over 6,000 COVID-19 cases, accounting for almost half of the total number of cases recorded in Guyana to date.
As a result, Seeram said he made a formal appeal to the Task Force sometime before the recent Phagwah and Easter holidays and requested a lockdown and that more stringent measures be put in place. However, he said the requests were not adopted although enforcement did increase during that period.
Seeram added that he made another appeal in early April after COVID-19 cases and deaths started to rapidly increase but yet again they were in vain.
“Right now, we do not need soft measures for COVID-19. We need more strict measures. I’ve been protesting for these recommendations to be taken into consideration because many persons are testing positive for COVID-19 and that is only from the regional point of view,” Seeram said before saying that he is not pleased with the way the government is handling the situation.
“We can keep telling people to follow the measures but we need to put stricter enforcement in place and we do see that currently the police force are trying their best to enforce the COVID-19 measures but there must be stricter measures,” he added.
Additionally, Seeram said many hotels with restaurants and bars are flouting the measures because hotels were deemed essential and therefore can operate 24/7, which he believes is related to the continuous rise in infections as those services encourage gathering.
“We are the region with the highest numbers and deaths and we need to have better measures in place at this point,” he said, before adding that a COVID-19 variant may be circulating, which would call for stricter measures and greater enforcement of those measures.
Seeram added when other countries were made aware that a COVID-19 variant was circulating, many imposed stricter measures and lockdowns but in Guyana nothing has been done.
“It would be better, for just a short while, to be more stringent because the current measures are not serious and then when the curve has been flattened and then we can start up opening but more stringent measures are need now,” he said.
