Operators of passenger boats have been informed that they risk being suspended or having their licences revoked if they operate unvaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) yesterday announced via its Facebook page.
The requirements for speedboat captains, bowmen and monitors were announced in the new provisions of the updated COVID-19 Emergency Measures gazetted by the Ministry of Health. The requirement took effect from August 1.
According to the published notice, operators are at all times required to have their vaccination card with official identification in their possession to be produced if required by a Police or MARAD officer or any official from the Ministry of Health.
Director General of MARAD Stephen Thomas yesterday said that the publication of the notice is to highlight the new requirement set out by government.
MARAD’s Facebook post specifies, “In keeping with paragraph 15 of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures No. 20, no unvaccinated person shall be permitted to operate within the speedboat service, in any part of Guyana.”
Thomas noted that the agency is also working to educate and encourage operators to get persons vaccinated against the virus.
According to the new requirement, all public transport operators are now required to be vaccinated and must have their vaccination card and an official identification document on them at all times.
Meanwhile, Thomas informed that MARAD yesterday sent dozens of its staff members to be vaccinated.
He noted that the decision to send persons to get vaccinated is in keeping with government’s new requirements for persons to be vaccinated.
The maritime agency yesterday met with unvaccinated staff and told them of the decision and requested that they be vaccinated.
“Today [yesterday] we introduced this measure to send staff to get vaccinated, some went and got vaccinated. Tomorrow [today] we will decide what happens with those who did not get vaccinated,” the Director General was quoted as saying.
Employers in the private and public sectors have implemented new policies to protect vaccinated workers by mandating that staff who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine provide evidence of a negative PCR test result. Some places of work require evidence of a negative PCR test weekly while others require it fortnightly.
The unvaccinated employees are required to cover the cost of every test they are subjected to.
