Staff Editor

Following widespread consternation, the National COVID-19 Task Force this afternoon announced that it had reversed its position requiring that CARICOM officials coming here for the recount of votes be quarantined for two week.

Over 70 Guyanese doctors and medical students who are on scholarships in Cuba are seeking to return home after their training was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic however the government here through the National Covid-19 Task Force has since refused their request. 

A search is underway for four inmates who escaped from the holding bay of the Lusignan Prison last night.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has moved from 63 to 65 overnight, the Ministry of Public Health said today.

 (Reuters) – Governors in U.S. states hardest hit by the novel coronavirus sparred with President Donald Trump over his claims they have enough tests and should quickly reopen their economies as more protests are planned over the extension of stay-at-home orders.

GECOM has been told by de facto Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo that its recount of the votes for March 2nd general elections must not extend into the curfew period and that any persons coming into the country for the process would have to be quarantined for two weeks at a government institution.

RIYADH,  (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday.

MOSCOW, (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said that Russian authorities had the coronavirus crisis under full control and that everything would work out with God’s help, even as the country today  registered a record daily rise in cases of the new virus.

(Trinidad Guardian) “Stay home or I will make your life very uncomfortable.”

Guyana has recorded its seventh novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) death. A release from the Department of Public Information quotes Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence as having confirmed that the death of the unidentified individual.

(Trinidad Guardian) The United States says it is not militarising the Caribbean but will remain transparent in all of its operations as it mounts a united effort to dismantle the transnational narcotics trade.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Doctors and health workers criticised the British government today for suggesting that personal protective equipment (PPE) worn while treating patients infected with coronavirus could be re-used, as supplies run low across the country.

(Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said today  that a recent drop in hospitalizations and other improving metrics indicated the state may be past the peak of its coronavirus crisis and on a path toward stabilizing the healthcare system.

Five parties that contested the recent general elections today expressed disappointment with the GECOM Chair’s decision for no more than 10 work stations for the recount of votes.

Fallout from a US lobbyist’s report on behalf of APNU+AFC continues as the Ministry of the Presidency was this afternoon forced to state that President David Granger is Guyanese and not a US citizen as stated in the document.

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has commended GECOM Chair, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh on her decision today to move forward with the recount of votes cast at the March 2nd  general elections.

GECOM Chair Claudette Singh today decided on 10 work stations for the recount of ballots from the March 2nd elections.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry today said that a fully-empowered government needs to be in place to grapple with the COVID-19 threat and this would only be possible with a quick end to the elections crisis through a recount of votes.

Schools will not be re-opened on April 20 and will remain closed until further notice, according the National COVID-19 Task Force.

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – In the 14 years he has worked on ambulances, Dr.