Dear Editor,
I write with profound urgency and deep concern in my capacity as Acting General President of the Bartica United Youth Development Group (BUYDG) and Secretary of its Prison Reform and Human Rights Division, following recent confirmed reports of COVID-19 cases within residential institutional settings in Guyana, including the GuySuCo Training School in Port Mourant, Corentyne.
Recent reports in the media indicate that several students residing in dormitory accommodations tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the temporary closure of the residential facility, the quarantine of infected individuals, and the dispersal of other students as a precautionary measure. Additional reports further indicate that more than twenty (20) cases were detected within the institution, prompting contact-tracing operations by health authorities.
These developments must be treated with the utmost seriousness.
COVID-19 is not an ordinary illness. It is a highly contagious and potentially deadly infectious disease that previously caused one of the most severe global public health emergencies in modern history. Guyana, like every other nation, was significantly affected. The country recorded more than 74,000 confirmed cases and approximately 1,300 deaths during the height of the pandemic. Globally, millions of lives were lost, and the World Health Organization has estimated that the true death toll may have exceeded 15 million when direct and indirect impacts are considered.
During the height of the pandemic, Guyana’s health system, frontline workers, prisons, schools, and communities were placed under extreme pressure. Health workers risked and, in some cases, lost their lives in the line of duty. Families were devastated, and extraordinary national emergency measures were required to contain the spread of the virus.
It is within this historical context that the current reports must be viewed—with seriousness, urgency, and preparedness.
The recent outbreak in a residential educational facility demonstrates how rapidly COVID-19 can spread in environments where individuals live in close proximity. This risk extends to other vulnerable institutional settings across the country, including correctional facilities, juvenile centres, elderly homes, schools, dormitories, and other state-supervised residential institutions.
Accordingly, we respectfully call upon the Government of Guyana to:
1 Establishment of a national COVID-19 preparedness and response committee or task force
Establish a National COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Committee or Task Force comprising health professionals, epidemiologists, members of the judiciary, the Guyana Police Force, the Joint Services, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), prison authorities, education officials, and other relevant stakeholders to assess current risks and implement immediate protective measures.
- Deploy testing and medical resources nationwide
Ensure that COVID-19 testing kits, screening tools, and medical supplies are immediately distributed to all institutions under state care and responsibility.
- Strengthen preventative measures and supplies
Ensure PPE, masks, sanitisation materials, disinfectants, vaccines where applicable, and all necessary public health resources are available.
- Reinforce emergency preparedness plans
Review and update contingency measures including isolation protocols, quarantine readiness, staffing continuity plans, and institutional emergency procedures.
- Ensure transparency and public reporting
The Government should provide clear and regular public updates on:
- Confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide
- Locations and institutions affected
- Public health response measures
- Hospital and treatment capacity
- Availability of testing and treatment resources
- COVID-related deaths, if any
We further recommend the establishment of a national COVID-19 public register and reporting system to ensure full transparency, including timely updates on cases detected, locations of outbreaks, care being provided, containment measures applied, and any fatalities. This is essential to maintain public trust and ensure informed national response.
Special protection measures for persons in custody and vulnerable individuals
We further call for urgent and specific protective measures for persons in state custody, including those in prisons and detention facilities, as well as individuals with underlying medical conditions, who are significantly more vulnerable to severe illness and death from COVID-19.
It must be clearly recognised that persons in incarceration, particularly those with underlying conditions such as respiratory illness, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic illnesses, are at a substantially higher risk of serious complications and mortality if infected.
Accordingly, we respectfully urge the Government to implement:
- Enhanced medical screening and immediate testing within all correctional institutions and upon admission of new inmates or those being transferred firm one prison to the next.
- Isolation facilities for suspected and confirmed cases
- Priority medical attention for inmates with underlying health conditions ● Continuous monitoring of high-risk prisoners
- Adequate access to medication, oxygen support, and emergency care where required
- Strict infection prevention protocols in all detention facilities
We further urge consideration of special preventive and humanitarian measures, including medical parole and other forms of early release, compassionate release, or temporary decongestion of correctional facilities, where appropriate and legally permissible, especially for:
- Elderly inmates
- Inmates with serious underlying medical conditions
- Non-violent or low-risk offenders
- Individuals nearing completion of sentences
These measures have been implemented by several countries globally during COVID-19 outbreaks to reduce overcrowding and prevent deaths in state custody. Such steps are not only medical in nature but also humanitarian, aimed at preserving life and preventing avoidable loss of persons in state care.
We must emphasise that individuals with underlying conditions remain among the most vulnerable populations and must be treated with heightened protection and urgency.
Public health warning and national preparedness
The lessons of the previous pandemic must not be forgotten. COVID-19 demonstrated how rapidly a virus can spread and overwhelm systems if not properly contained.
We therefore respectfully urge the Government of Guyana to treat these reports as an early warning signal and to act immediately to prevent escalation into a wider public health crisis.
Where necessary, we also encourage consideration of emergency social protection measures, including food support and financial assistance for vulnerable households.
The health, safety, and lives of the people of Guyana must remain the highest priority. We trust that this matter will be treated with the seriousness and urgency it deserves.
Yours faithfully,
Kellion Leps
Concerned mother and citizen of Guyana
Acting general president
Bartica United Youth Development Group
Secretary, Prison Reform and Human Rights Division
