Region 9’s Task Force called upon to tackle its COVID-19 cases
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, August 12, 2020
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC), along with the Ministries of Amerindian Affairs, and Local Government and Regional Development, hosted a meeting on August 11, to address the COVID-19 situation in Region 9, Lethem.
CDC’s Director-General, Lt. Col., Kester Craig, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Hon. Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Hon. Nigel Dharamlall, Regional Chairman, Mr. Brian Allicock, and several members of the Region 9’s Task Force were all in attendance.
Lt. Col. Craig noted that over the past few years, CDC has been working closely with the task force to identify hazards that can affect Region 9.
“From our risk assessment, a health hazard was one of the key dangers identified, especially because of our porous borders, and now know its impact and mechanisms that can be put in place to reduce the impact,” the Craig explained.
He noted that under the PPP/C administration, the CDC’s new structure to tackle COVID-19 falls under the Office of the Prime Minister.
Minister Sukhai conveyed that overcoming COVID-19 must be a collective and united effort.
“Under the PPP/Civic Government, the focus of the President, His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, is that we aggressively try and work together towards ensuring that we flatten the curve.”
The Amerindian Affairs Minister then advised that the recommendations provided by the Region 9 task force be adhered to “so we can guarantee to take Guyana off a higher risk path.”
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Hon. Nigel Dharamlall, expressed similar statements.
“Lethem is contiguous to one of the countries devastated by COVID-19. The news in Boa Vista [Brazil] last night was that 37,000 persons are affected already, and we know the circumstances of border communities, and we know people traverse borders [and] diseases also come with them. It is important that the task force in Region 9 address all the gaps to ensure that we can contain and at some point, in the very near future that we can control the spread of COVID-19.”
Minister Dharamlall further stated that the Government is providing relief through the CDC and will be securing approximately $4.5Billion to combat COVID-19.
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