From tomorrow public transport operators will have to show proof of vaccination in order to be allowed to ply their trade, while persons not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be required to make appointments in order to access services at ministries and other government agencies.
The requirements are among the newest restrictions added to the COVID-19 Emergency Measures, which also now cater for the reopening of cinemas to operate at 40% capacity, albeit only for vaccinated patrons.
According to the updated measures, which were gazetted on Thursday and cover the month of August, in order to be considered vaccinated a person would have to have received at least one dose of either the AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Sincovac, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
Although in recent months no new measures had been added, the newest measures appear to be aimed at forcing higher vaccine uptake as just under 30% of Guyana’s adult population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
As it relates to public transport operators, the measures state that they would be required to have both identification documents and vaccination cards. They also have to ensure that their passengers comply with mask wearing measures.
A restriction to access to services at government ministries and agencies is among the additions. It is stated that that persons who may wish to enter a Ministry or Government Agency to access a service will have to be vaccinated. However, while they would be permitted to access in-person services, unvaccinated persons will have to call and schedule a meeting before they can visit a government agency.
Meanwhile, in addition to casinos, betting shops, and restaurants, cinemas have now been given the greenlight to resume operation, albeit at a 40% capacity.
No concession stands are allowed at cinemas and patrons would be required to be masked during screenings.
Persons will also be required to present an official identification document to operators of the services mentioned and if requested by a police officer or an authorized person from the Ministry of Health (MoH) to do so at these establishments.
Businesses must
comply with social distancing and mask-wearing measures.
The requirement to present a vaccination and Identification card do not apply to children 17 years and younger.
The 10.30 pm to 4 am curfew, the mandatory mask requirement and all other previous measures have been extended until August 31st, 2020.
During yesterday’s COVID-19 update, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony noted that while there are new measures, it is unlikely that the government will make the decision to get rid of the restrictions altogether because there is still a long way to go before herd immunity is achieved.
“When we get to herd immunity then we can talk about the relaxation of measures, primarily because we have seen the evolution of new variants that can cause more severe disease and result in deaths,” he said.
He pointed out that there are far more developed countries that are battling the new variants and have overwhelmed their health systems and he noted that this is why Guyana needs to be cautious, hence the necessity of the measures.
In order to move forward, he added, persons need to get fully vaccinated as vaccines have been proven to protect persons from getting the severe form of COVID-19.
Many countries are grappling with the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus, which has spread across the globe, where it is causing more serious disease than earlier strains.
As it is now, only 50% of Guyana’s adult population have received their first dose of the vaccine while 28% have received both doses. With these numbers, he said, there is still a very long way to go before herd immunity is achieved as 85% persons need to be fully vaccinated to meet that goal.
Anthony averaged that during the past few days only 3,000 persons have been vaccinated. He stated that there are at least 100 fixed sites countrywide with each having about 200 vaccine doses. When compared, he said, it is clear that these sites are underutilized.
Persons who fail to adhere to these measures commits an offence and is liable to summary conviction to the penalty provided for under section 152 of the Public Health Ordinance.
However, if the operators of any businesses that are allowed to operate do not comply with the measures in place, the Minister of Health may issue a written warning to the operator indicating that if they continue to disregard the measures their business may be suspended.
If after being warned and business owners still continue to disregard the COVID-19 measures, the Minister will suspend its operation for the maximum of 30 days.
