There are presently around 40 Guyanese studying in China and the Guyana Government says it has no plans to bring them home in the wake of the deadly outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
This disclosure was made in a release today from the Department of the Public Service (DPS). It is at odds with a statement that had been made on Friday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Karen Cummings who said that the government was working to have Guyanese students in China brought back here.
The statement from DPS said that a team of government officials on Saturday met with parents and other representatives of Guyana-China scholars, at the Training Division of the Department of Public Service, Ministry of the Presidency, Vlissengen Road and D’Urban Street, Lodge.
The team comprised Minister of the Public Service, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley; Permanent Secretary of the Department of Public Service, Soyinka Grogan, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shamdeo Persaud and Director of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Forbes July.
The release said that in her opening remarks Sarabo-Halley put to rest talk of government bringing the students home.
“Government is not putting plans in place to bring students home. After listening and hearing what’s happening in China and examining our own situation in Guyana we decided it’s best for them to remain there because the more movement the more the possibility of exposure to the virus. Staying put in the hostel significantly reduces the likelihood of contracting the virus”, the statement quoted her as saying.
Sarabo-Halley further said that the decision made to let the students remain in China was not made unilaterally but came after a meeting on Thursday among the Ministers of Public Health, State, Foreign Affairs, Citizenship and Department of Public Service along with senior technical officers from the respective ministries and the head of PAHO here. The decision also took into consideration advice received from the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, local and regional medical practitioners.
The Minister said all things considered it was concluded that it was best for the students to remain in China at this time.
“They have everything; they know what to do if the virus is contracted and so that is the best place for them at the current stage because once they start moving we don’t know what will happen”, she said.
Sarabo-Halley also said there will be difficulties should attempts be made to bring the students home whether by government or their relatives since they will have to be quarantined at various transit points.
“For them to move from one province to the other to get out is a 14-day wait. Fourteen-day quarantine period and that could happen for a while before they actually get out. So, it’s not that the government doesn’t care about the students. We have taken that into consideration”, the release quoted her as saying.
The release said that among the several concerns raised by parents and other representatives of the students were the lack of adequate supplies for the students who are currently restricted to their place of residence and the paucity of information. To these concerns, Sarabo-Halley committed that she and other members of the government team will endeavour to collect and disseminate accurate information on the situation as it pertains to each student currently in China on Government of Guyana/ Government of China scholarships.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Persaud told the meeting that surveillance systems have been established at the various ports of entry locally and suspected victims will be quarantined in line with the internationally recognized standards.
“What we have at the two airports, Moleson Creek and the various ports is if we identify someone that is coughing we put a mask on that person to prevent them from dropping the droplets around the environment. (Then) we get the person into isolation. So far we have two sites that we have developed one at Georgetown Hospital and we have a small area at Diamond. Last night we were also told both Ogle and Timehri will have a separate room … to conduct our examinations.”
Fariz Khan, an obstetrician who has been working in the local health sector for the last decade told the meeting that his sister is currently pursuing her Master’s in China. He encouraged those present to recognise the advice being given as the best in the current circumstances.
