THE Ministry of Health is urging persons who travelled on Caribbean Airlines flight BW 727, on March 12, 2020, from JFK New York to CJIA Guyana, to make contact with its office urgently. The notice comes days after the daughter of the woman who died from the coronavirus travelled on a Caribbean Airlines flight from New York to Guyana. The woman was Guyana’s first imported case of Coronavirus. Both the airline and government have been trying to track down those passengers to quarantine them. Those passengers who were on the flight are asked to call 592-624-6674 for urgent information.

Since the daughter travelled to Guyana, she and two other members of the family have tested positive for the coronavirus. Officially, Guyana has announced that four persons have been tested positive with the virus. Local online news website News Source reported that the Caribbean Airlines had allowed the daughter to travel from New York to Guyana, although concerns were expressed to the airline by local authorities. News Source said when the daughter arrived in Guyana, she did not show any symptoms and she was ordered to self-quarantine. Her mother reportedly stayed with her in New York. The mother arrived in Guyana on the 7th March aboard a Caribbean Airlines flight also. She died on the 11th March in the emergency room at the Georgetown Hospital. Caribbean Airlines was forced to quarantine the 13 crew members who worked the two flights that the mother travelled on from New York to Guyana via Trinidad and Tobago.

Last week, Caribbean Airlines said, in a statement, that it continues to monitor and respond to the situation regarding COVID-19. While authorities have not issued travel restrictions to its destinations, Caribbean Airlines is committed to the health and safety of both its crew members and customers, and is working directly with health and security officials, as well as industry leaders, to keep updated and to ensure that it continues to implement best practices, the airline said.

The airline said too that it is working steadfastly to make sure it is well prepared. Already, the airline has put in place measures which include: Placing special safety kits on board all aircraft and at offices; Monitoring the air quality in its aircraft cabins; Continuing to ensure compliance with aircraft-cleaning procedures, ensuring that all aircraft are properly sanitised at all ports; Equipping employees with international guidelines on how to deal with any suspected cases of COVID-19; activating a special response team to monitor the situation in real time and promoting frequent handwashing practices amongst its crew members and passengers The airline’s operations team is putting contingencies in place in the event of any future disruptions.

Also, the airline said it is permitting persons travelling on Caribbean Airlines with onward connections to/from mainland China, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore to rebook the Caribbean Airlines travel segment without a change in fees, subject to conditions.