Indigenous leaders urged to restrict village access to prevent coronavirus outbreak

The checkpoint gate that was constructed by members of CORE (seen in picture) at Aishalton.

Deputy Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Paul Pierre is encouraging Indigenous leaders to restrict travel to and from their respective villages in order to prevent an outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in their communities.

Pierre is also the Toshao of Kwebanna, an Indigenous village in Region One.

In an interview with Stabroek News yesterday, Pierre said an outbreak in Indigenous communities would be  disastrous because medical resources to treat COVID-19 are limited. He said that while the more modernised communities may have the capacity to deal with an outbreak, other far-flung villages do not.