-deliberations ongoing about whether to bring scholarship students home

THE Coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and in ensuring that Guyana remains safe from the disease, the Guyana Government has taken a step to close its Embassy in Beijing.

This was confirmed by Minister of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings during an interview with the News Room, on Friday. “Right now we are trying to close the embassy, so we would have no work there…we are not issuing visas,” said Dr. Cummings.

According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China.

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, coughs, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. In recognising the severity of the disease, which, according to the BBC, has already killed about 170 people in China, Guyana has taken steps to strengthen its port health authority and is even working with officials to examine the possibility of bringing home Guyanese students who are in China.

“We have two Chinese there (Wuhan) and of course efforts are being made to bring them home but they have to work with the Chinese advisory because if they (the Chinese) say the students have to be contained right there, then they have to comply,” said Minister Cummings.

She further explained that, for the students to travel from Wuhan they would have to go to different stations and at each station, they would have to be quarantined for 14 days. And, those are strict orders, so the students would have to cooperate. The minister gave the assurance that the ministry is constantly checking on the safety of the students. She said: “They are safe and we are hoping they remain safe by taking preventative measures and even being contained until it is safe to travel.”

The Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Public Service is expected to meet with the parents of those students. An official of the Chinese Embassy confirmed that there are about 10 Guyanese students in China and the embassy is working to ensure that those students remain safe. Guyana Chronicle had reported that the local authorities here continue to be on guard against the Coronavirus and is even well-equipped to deal with the virus if it reaches here.

“We are prepared and equipped with what is needed to handle a situation, should one arise,” said Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, during a joint press briefing between the Ministry of Public Health and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), last Tuesday.

According to Minister Lawrence, government’s first approach to keeping the virus at bay, is to ensure that they “test, isolate and treat” any person, who enters Guyana and has a high index of suspicion. While every port is being monitored, the minister said emphasis is being placed on the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Eugene F. Correia Airport.

“We have not moved to the second phase to check whether we do have cases…but what we are looking at is what it will take to expand services outside of Georgetown, especially if we have an overflow… we know GPHC has a high occupancy rate, so we need another facility to house persons,” said the minister, noting that the ministry is examining other available facilities and looking at what needs to be purchased.

ADEQUATE MEDICATION
So far, the ministry has confirmed that it has an adequate supply of medication to treat the respiratory and other symptoms of the disease. The ministry is expected to make a presentation to Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, who was made aware of the situation, when the minister and her team briefed Cabinet on Tuesday.

The team of medical professionals provided an insight to the rise of the Novel Coronavirus and advised Cabinet that the Caribbean and Guyana were at a relatively low risk, but that it was important to be prepared for any eventualities.

Cabinet was told that the GPHC and the Diamond Diagnostic Centre were identified as the two medical facilities where any arriving passenger suspected of having the Novel Coronavirus will be quarantined. Both facilities were being prepared and retrofitted accordingly.

The team briefed Cabinet that Port Health Authorities had begun screening Chinese nationals arriving at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) from Suriname and Asia. According to a press statement, President David Granger thanked the team for the briefing and the work that they and other agencies were doing to ensure that Guyana is prepared to handle an occurrence. President Granger said Guyana’s preparedness to deal with transnational diseases is at an optimum.

Resident PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr. William Adu Krow, during the press conference, said Guyana, although not having to deal with some of the prevalent outbreaks in recent times, was experienced and prepared to deal with any disease. “As of now though, we are very, very, very low in terms of getting a condition like that…but we are prepared,” said Dr. Adu-Krow.

In emphasising his confidence in Guyana, he said: We went through Chikungunya, Ebola and so on, so I think we have gained enough experience, even though we did not have the cases, we have enough experience to deal with it…PAHO/WHO is also prepared to stand by the ministry to support in the event of the virus reaching Guyana.” The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 countries outside of the country, but no deaths.