Laurel Sutherland

Fears that the COVID-19 vaccines might be unsafe and could have deadly side effects have left the majority of the adult population in Region Ten skeptical about getting immunised against the disease, which continues to claim lives in Guyana, according to regional officials.

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.

Following confirmation that another Deep South Rupununi community has recorded COVID-19 cases Aishalton will be proceeding on a total lockdown from tomorrow in an attempt to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

It’s just past noon and the sound of chisels and hammers hitting against each other emanates from 150 feet below the top of Mazoa.

Border patrols have been stepped up in Region Nine to minimise persistent illegal cross-border travel between Guyana and Brazil, according to Regional Chairman Bryan Allicock, who says authorities there are worried about importing a deadlier variant of the virus from the neighbouring country.

With limited information on the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive, there is strong skepticism among members of the Indigenous Wapichan and Wai-Wai tribes in some of the most far-flung communities in Region Nine, which some fear could hinder national efforts to achieve herd immunity.

The government  remains  silent on the contention that Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has not signed a guarantee agreement which mandates its parent companies to provide unlimited liability coverage should there be an oil spill, although this is a  specific requirement of the Liza Phase 2 development project’s Environmental Permit.

When the first COVID-19 case was confirmed here on March 11 last year, many Guyanese foresaw a change in lifestyle having witnessed the havoc that the virus was causing around the world and the steps that Governments took to contain its spread before it eventually made its way here.

With two COVID-19 vaccination sites functioning in Georgetown, hundreds of persons came forward yesterday to be inoculated, with one simply saying “I just want to be safe,” and after receiving their doses at State House, President Irfaan Ali and First Lady Arya Ali have urged all those eligible to come forward and take their shots.

The United Nations Population Fund in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MoHSSS) yesterday launched a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Service Guide App that will enable persons to access help and support.

Land Tenure Assessments (LTAs) conducted by the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) over the last nine years have revealed that there is widespread land insecurity among Indigenous communities in Guyana.  

The public service took centre stage during the budget debate on Wednesday, when Minister of the Public Service Sonia Parag and her predecessor, opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Tabitha Sarabo-Halley made their contributions.

Former Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr Vincent Adams on Saturday said ExxonMobil only needs to cut back oil production by 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from its last given figures of 120,000 bpd in order to bring flaring into compliance with the Liza-1 permit.

-says key insurance document still to be signed The former Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday, kick started a delayed Mass Drug Administration (MDA) across Guyana to eradicate Lymphatic Filariasis.

A pharmacist attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) was the first of dozens of frontline healthcare workers who were inoculated with the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine yesterday, almost one year after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Guyana.

Following the recent gas compressor malfunction on the offshore Liza Destiny platform, President of ExxonMobil Guyana Alistair Routledge yesterday disclosed that oil production has been pared to 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) – its previously stated maximum capacity – while gas flaring has increased to 16 million cubic feet per day.

Although the Ministry of Education (MoE) has extended the timelines for the completion of several projects ongoing at the University of Guyana (UG) Turkeyen campus, it has warned it will terminate those not completed on the revised schedule.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall yesterday instructed the Mayor and Town Council of Mabaruma in Region One to halt the planned cutting of century-old rubber trees that line the Philbert Pierre Avenue.

Constant attacks by the notorious Syndicato gang have forced hundreds of Venezuelans to flee  and seek refuge in Region One communities, putting the Region under severe financial pressure as authorities struggle to provide food and shelter.