Wednesday’s Eastern Airlines repatriation flight from Miami saw the return of 67 Guyanese due to an approval granted by the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF).
Bibi Khan and her husband of 48 years were among the group that landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). She said her experience abroad was troubling since she was unable to attend the funeral of her brother’s mother-in-law in New Jersey. Now that she’s back home with her husband who had heart surgery in 2015, Bibi listed some of the steps the couple will take to stay safe.
“We were definitely not going out for about two weeks and furthermore we are indoor people. We don’t go out a lot. We will only go to the market at the Stelling and come home. We not visiting relatives or friends,” she told DPI.
After learning of his 94-year-old mother’s passing, Michael Choy was eager to return home to be with his family. He said he will comply with the COVID-19 guidelines as he took steps in the USA to be coronavirus-free. “The job I’m doing is as a merchant marine,” Michael noted. “We more or less isolate ourselves, do our own [COVID-19] tests and I stay out of the bars.”
Another citizen that came home was Rashida Mohamed-Hinds. Reflecting on life among her family, Rashida reiterated critical advice she says Guyanese should follow. “My father has a health condition, so I was concerned about going outside. I think if you are around people who have health conditions, you need to be extra careful.” Concerning asymptomatic transmission, Rashida emphasised citizens must exercise more caution.
For Joshua John, it is vitally important that returning Guyanese be honest with the information they provide to the staff of the Ministry of Public Health. Recently there were reports from the Ministry’s Health officials that Guyanese on a previous repatriation flight had given misleading information. While others had breached their mandatory quarantine period.
John appealed to his fellow countrymen and women to abide by the requirements upon which their re-entry was granted noting that the provision of false information, “is hurting the rest of Guyanese that want to return home.” The NCTF has approved another flight of Guyanese from the USA for July 2. This flight is expected to depart the JFK International Airport in New York. While Guyana’s main airports will remain closed to international flights, limited repatriation flights will continue provided the NCTF issues its approval. (DPI)
