April 19 ,2021
…US CDC notes ‘very high level’ of COVID-19 cases here
The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is urging its citizens to avoid all travel to Guyana, noting that very high level of COVID-19 cases here.
The Ministry of Health noted on Sunday that 101 new positive cases have been recorded over the 24hour period that day while the number of deaths climbed to 271.
According to the CDC, because of the current situation in Guyana, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to these shores.
“If you must travel to Guyana, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travelers should wear a mask, stay 6 feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash their hands,” the CDC said.
On April 1st, the number of deaths in Guyana attributed to COVID -19 stood at 233. Since then 38 persons have died. As a measure to counter the virus, the Ministry of Health has been rolling out vaccination campaigns across the county. On Friday , the authorities noted that anyone 18 years or over can access the vaccine.
However, persons have criticised the current situation while issuing a call for a lockdown. Persons can still be seen in the public without masks and not adhering to any of the health measures put in place to stem the spread of the virus.
The National COVID-19 Task Force noted on Sunday that only essential services are authorised to operate on a 24 hour basis. It noted that other services such as businesses must close their doors by 9:30 pm in order to facilitate workers reaching home by 10:30pm.
The situation in neigbouring Brazil has been worsening by the day as that country’s health care system has been impacted heavily by a new variant. In the Rupununi region, there have been multiple positive cases , with 17 new cases recorded at the remote village of Aishalton.
Travel between the two countries remain open. On the eastern side of the border at Suriname, travel has been affected this past weekend as a lockdown has been implemented to counter the situation there.
