COVID-19 measures roll over to the new year

…special restrictions removed from Reg. 7
…airline operators, passengers reminded to adhere to Authorities

COVID-19 Emergency measures in Guyana have only slightly changed for the New Year with the 10:30 pm to 4:00 am curfew remaining but the removal of special restrictions on Region Seven.
The changes, which will take effect from January 1 to 31, 2021, have already been gazetted. In the previous document, Region Seven was subject to restriction on non-essential travel in or out of the Region among other restrictions. However, such special measures are not included in the updated version for the Region or any other within Guyana.

Added to this, in the previous document, travel between Guyana and Suriname via the Moleson Creek Crossing was initially permitted but, even before the changes to the document — which now excludes this — the Government had announced that the Guyana/Suriname service was postponed indefinitely.

Following the initial resumption announcement, a number of Cubans gathered at South Drain in Suriname waiting to travel to Guyana which caused much concern for the Guyana Government.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC stated that complaints have come from the Brazilian Government that Guyana is being used as a human transshipment point for thousands of Cubans, many of which are transiting illegally.

“Currently we are dealing with a situation where it is believed that there is a move to assemble some 10,000 Cubans on Guyana’s soil before the end of December to converge at the US Embassy here in Georgetown and or to join a caravan that would go over to Brazil on its way to Mexico along the highways of America. We have a 1,000 or more assembled at the borders of Suriname attempting to cross illegally,” he said early December.
Apart from these changes, under the subject of ‘Domestic and International Travel’, the updated measures have now included the requirement that all airline operators and passengers comply with any port health measure issued by the Ministry of Health or any measure issued by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Domestic air travel in Guyana has long been reopened but with special Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) specific to preventing the spread of the coronavirus.