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Eleven incoming passengers have tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID) since the reopening of the country’s airports, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony disclosed Thursday.
All passengers arriving in Guyana are required to obtain a negative molecular biological PCR test taken within seven days prior to their arrival. If the test is within 1-3 days, a second test will not be required in Guyana. If the test, however, is within 4-7 days, a second test will be required in Guyana.
The second tests, if needed, are being provided by the private sector at a cost which must be withstood by the passenger.
“Since we’ve started that programme the provider of those tests, I think they probably would have completed more than 1,000 tests and, among those persons who have been tested, we have found 11 persons who have been positive,” the Health Minister said.
He said that once a COVID-19 positive person is detected, the Ministry engages in contact tracing for all whom the passenger has been in contact and to inform the country of origin that the passenger has tested positive for the virus.
“We have been utilising these systems and informing our counterparts in other countries about the cases that have been imported so far,” Dr. Anthony said.
Guyana officially reopened its airports to international commercial travel on October 12, 2020 with strict COVID-19 guidelines in place. Several Regional and International airlines have signaled their interest in plying the Guyana route.
