Guyana’s national curfew is being shortened to 12 am to 4 am for the month of November under the updated COVID emergency measures.
In addition, according to the new COVID-19 Emergency Measures (No. 24), which will take effect from Monday and last until November 30th unless amended or terminated by the health minister, only “fully” inoculated persons would be allowed to enter public buildings and spaces.
The national curfew, which critics have said is ineffective, is currently 10.30 pm to 4 am.
The new curfew hours will see businesses, including bars, restaurants and more being allowed to open until 11 pm, even as the new measures indicate that persons entering “public buildings” are expected to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of same. The order specifies that “public buildings” mean any building that the public has lawful access to and includes both public and privately owned buildings, including learning institutions.
Persons who are not fully inoculated and wish to enter those public buildings are expected to make an appointment and subsequently present a negative PCR test result within seven days of the appointment. In addition to that, the fully vaccinated order in the measure extends to transportation operators for domestic an international travel.
Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has recently been appealing for persons to take their second doses of the various COVID-19 vaccines (except the one-dose Johnson and Johnson) due to lagging uptake. The requirement for persons to be fully vaccinated in order to access public spaces appears to be aimed at addressing the situation.
