Ministry repeats call for adherence to safety precautions
−In light of long weekend ahead
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, July 30, 2020
As new COVID-19 cases are being reported daily in Guyana, the Ministry of Public Health is once again calling on citizens to adhere to measures in place as well as practice precautions to minimise their risk of becoming infected.
Guyana has recorded 401 confirmed cases since March 11 and 196 of these are currently active, while 20 persons have died.
Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud on Thursday noted that Guyanese must be cognisant of the COVID-19 situation in the country as well as in neighbouring countries.
It was pointed out that over time, persons have become relaxed in practising precautions and adopting measures and this has resulted in the disease spreading rapidly throughout the country.
The CMO particularly noted that the upcoming holidays will prompt persons to go out, neglecting the measures they must consider.
Eid-Ul-Adha is being observed on July 31, Friday and Emancipation Day on August 1, Saturday.
“The Ministry is once again pleading with all to ensure that the COVID guidelines are at the core of these celebrations. You are all aware of the highly contagious nature of this disease and the continuous increase locally of our cases,” the CMO emphasised.
Further, Dr. Persaud noted that Guyana can win the fight against the coronavirus but this requires an extra bit of effort from citizens. He cited the World Health Organisation’s Director-General as saying, “It’s never too late; even epidemics can be turned around.”
Added to this he said, “we need to make behavioural changes and respect the health guidelines; in our hotspots Regions 7 and 9 which remain high-risk areas, you need to curtail your cross-border movement where exposure to the disease is uncontrollably high, and help to halt the imported cases; in our mining communities, the influx of migrants continues to contribute to the high incidence of positive cases.”
Citizens are reminded that there is still a curfew in place from 8pm to 6am, persons are required to wear face masks when leaving home, hand washing and sanitising should be regularly practised as well as social distancing.