Strict COVID-19 measures in place for limited travel across borders – Health Minister

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said persons entering Guyana from neighbouring Brazil and Suriname must be fully vaccinated and provide a negative PCR test taken within a three-day period.

Dr. Anthony said the government is maintaining strict COVID-19 measures for travellers across its land borders.  

“We have very regulated traffic that comes over and there are requirements for you to travel to Guyana, from these land borders…it includes; that you must produce a negative PCR within three days and secondly, that you have to get vaccinated, so you have to show proof of vaccination,” he said.

Minister Anthony said the country’s border with Brazil remains closed to travellers, with a weekly opening for limited exchange of goods and services.

“With our border in Brazil, that border has been closed for over a year now and again, on Thursdays we allow trucks from Brazil to come across and persons who want to buy things in Guyana can buy those things and take it back to Brazil.

So, there’s a very limited exchange of goods and services and that has been going on for the last year and that would continue until we can see a significant reduction in cases,” the health minister said.

Meanwhile, Minister Anthony also addressed a recent statement from the United States’ Centre for Diseases Control (CDC), advising its citizens against travelling to Guyana at this time without being fully vaccinated.  

Dr. Anthony said the statement was based on the increase in Covid infections in Guyana.

“The CDC is not only Guyana, CDC periodically would do these reviews, and it’s based on how many cases you would have had over the last week, and it’s no secret we’ve had increase in cases.

So, we have to continue to monitor, we have to continue to test and once we find people who are positive to get them to isolate and those who have moderate or severe COVID and warrant hospitalisation, that we’re able to hospitalise them, treat them properly.”

Minister Anthony said the CDC will continue to carry out its rating, noting that many countries have moved up to “level four” as positive cases surge.  

Dr. Anthony is again urging persons to take their vaccines and practice the necessary precautions to prevent more infections.