Laurel Sutherland

Within the space of one month, COVID-19 infections have doubled in Region Nine and with the situation now spiralling out of control, President of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Daniel Gajie believes a month-long lockdown should be implemented to curb the spread of the virus.

“My house in Venezuela was robbed. They dismantled it in its entirety.

The wet season had come but having lived forty-nine years close to the banks of the Mazaruni River without a tale of flooding to tell her five children, this was not a concern for Christine George.

The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) yesterday said that just over 36,000 households from 300 communities countrywide have been affected by flooding.

While the majority of communities in Region Eight have not been severely affected by the countrywide flooding, roads have suffered extensive damage making travel very difficult to some of the remote villages, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Peter Ramotar says.

The Saipem Guyana Offshore Construction Facility, which was officially being declared open yesterday, will soon commence operations to support Guyana’s oil and gas sector.

Flooding caused by heavy rain has made travel to some of the most remote and hard-hit communities in Region Seven impossible, leaving the majority of those affected to fend for themselves.

Thousands across Guyana have been severely affected as a result of flooding, according to Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig.

Saying that the current level of flooding that is occurring in hinterland regions is unprecedented, regional officials now fear that the situation might worsen with more rain expected in the coming weeks.

Four years after a study found that villagers of Parabara, in the Deep South Rupununi, had high levels of mercury exposure, they still remain in the dark about the significance of the discovery, with many going about their lives as they always have.

“Kaimana’o kasarai wuru’u pidan dakatakinaowaz, ukaminka’uta pugaru na’iki ukazannaatan nii pugaru rinai  koroonaa  vairos ai.”

Seasonal flooding is not unusual in the Rupununi but the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new layer of complication as cases continue to rise in Indigenous communities.

It has only been three weeks since the arrival of the wet season in the Rupununi but there are already reports of extensive damage to existing road infrastructure.

Signs of pollution near Bartica’s Golden Beach have spurred some residents to call on authorities to immediately halt the construction of a wharf by Sir’s Gas Station, which they believe will make matters worse.

The World Wildlife Fund-Guianas and the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) have expressed concern over the environmental impact that gold mining has had on the Marudi mountain range in Region Nine and are calling for more responsible mining practices to be implemented.

The thought of becoming a Toshao never once crossed the mind of 19-year-old Jason Caitan so when he was nominated to be a candidate, he was both surprised and intimidated by the prospects of taking on such a huge role.

The United States yesterday presented a US$1.5 million grant to the Ministry of Health, which will among other things aim to have more HIV+ positive persons in treatment and their viral levels kept low.

Suspicions that one of the COVID-19 variants from Brazil is circulating in Guyana is increasing especially considering that a busload of Brazilians who entered the country illegally were recently intercepted in Linden. 

After managing to avoid a single case of COVID-19 for over a year, the remote community of Masakenari, in Region Nine is now grappling with an outbreak, which is believed to be linked to residents travelling outside of the community to source needed food and cleaning supplies.

Even as a spokesman touted plans for several projects that Global Oil Environmental Services (GOES) is hoping to implement at Coverden, on the East Bank of Demerara, its proposed construction of a waste treatment facility in the community is being met with resistance by residents, who are sceptical due to a lack of consultations on the potential effects of the project.