Seniors urged to maintain social distancing when uplifting pensions
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes is urging pensioners not to flock post offices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes
“I would like to take this opportunity to remind pensioners and most importantly their families that pensions are paid any day of the entire month …and most importantly too, pensions can be uplifted from any post office,” she emphasised.
The Minister made the plea as scores of persons gathered at the Bourda Post Office this morning to receive their pensions.
The Minister explained that there was a delay with the transfer of funds by the security personnel which led to the buildup of persons. However, the issue was swiftly dealt with.
“We then had a backup of persons here and the challenge has been ensuring the pensioners that are lining up are maintaining a safe distance. I want to thank the Guyana Police Force because they did send out some additional persons to help the staff to keep that safe distance and we had to continuously inform the pensioners of how important it is not to be too close to each other,” Minister Hughes explained.
The Minister also reminded that relatives of the pensioners can also uplift the pension end monies on their behalf once authorization is given. She is also urging that they use the post office located nearest to their home.
Measures are in place at all post offices to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Senior Post Master at the Bourda Post Office, Sharon Haynes explained that they are taking the necessary precautions.
“We have the markings of not more than six persons at one time, we have persons standing at the door to provide hand sanitizers before they go into the office,” she stated.
At present, there are 823,626 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 40,598 from 206 countries. In Guyana, the number has risen from five cases and one death, last week to 19 cases and two deaths.
Persons are being urged to take seriously the threat the virus possesses and to adhere to the safety precautions.