Member of Parliament Dr Karen Cummings yesterday criticized the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s decision to place asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in home isolation while contending that many persons cannot be safely isolated owing to the large size of households.
Cummings made this statement while representing A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) during a Zoom press conference yesterday. She said that it is the view of the party that the PPP/C government is guilty of dereliction of duty with regard to the delivery of COVID-19 health care. She noted that persons in home isolation now have to fend for themselves as they have been abandoned by the Health Ministry.
“This pandemic in Guyana has taken a turn for the worse with an alarming increase in the number of deaths as more and more persons become infected. Rather than a sound public health strategy to curb the spread of COVID-19 and prevent people from dying, the Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony has shifted the burden of care in general to home isolation, [and] in particular onto the Guyanese people. The Minister is hoping that 9 in every 10 persons with coronavirus in Guyana will stay safely at home and keep away from family, friends and strangers at all times while wearing a facemask all day,” she argued.
In addition, she opined that as a result of this strategy, more persons are becoming infected as can be seen on a daily basis. However, she added that while that may seem to be the sole issue, government also expects isolated patients to sustain themselves during the isolation period.
“It is wishful thinking that the minister of health expects home isolated patients to stay at home not infecting their families and not die but rather he expects these very patients to foot the bill while the health ministry continues to waste tax-payers money and dollars,” she asserted.
She pointed out that now that the majority of COVID-19 positive patients are being isolated in their homes, the government is no longer mandated to supply them with masks, vitamin supplements, sanitisers and other necessary services that would allow for their timely recovery.
Cummings said that while the list is not extensive, the government saves at least $25,500 for every COVID-19 case that is home isolated.
“It therefore means that PPP/C regime is handing out $25,000 COVID relief to their own supporters, but on the other hand it is acting in willful neglect, jeopardizing the health and lives of citizens and the result is the infection of large number of people on a daily basis,” she stated.
The former minister acknowledged that it might be impossible to isolate all COVID-19 patients at an institution and suggested that the Government should assess the situation of every household before deciding to isolate at home or in an institution because there might be a large number of persons living in a home which will make it next-to-impossible for them to isolate properly thereby spreading the disease to other family members.
“There are a number of persons who will be very difficult to isolate in those types of households and we believe those persons should be institutionalised. Those that can’t be institutionalised should be issued with a package. We have to be strategic to address the pandemic,” she said before iterating that the government should be assessing the financial situation of a household before isolating them.
Stabroek News was able to confirm that government support is not given to COVID-19 patients who are home isolated.
