WHILE, as of Thursday, there was no representation made to the National COVID-19 Taskforce (NCTF) for an extension of the partial COVID-19 lockdown, NCTF Chair, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, has hinted that this will likely be extended.

The PM stated that the NCTF is aware that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that lifting lockdown restrictions too quickly could lead to negative consequences. “If something is working and working for the interest of Guyana, then we will need to review its effectiveness and to make decisions as we go along. As of now, we cannot say that any measures have been relaxed,” he told reporters.

The curfew in place states that unless a citizen is conducting or visiting an essential service between the hours of 18:00 hours and 06:00 hours, he/she is to stay within the enclosure of his/her home and yard. A number of social activities have also been prohibited.

The last time the emergency measures in place were updated was on April 20, 2020, where the services of attorneys-at-law were deemed essential. The same was published in the gazette in the amended COVID-19 Emergency Measures.
The preamble to the list of measures have made it clear that it could be terminated, extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Public Health, after an assessment of the conditions.

The Prime Minister stated that the NCTF has recognised that, in isolated cases, the measures are not being adhered to. “We are using the more popular measure which is persuasion. We have no coercive measures in place, not that we cannot have coercive measures in place but we can try as best as we could to use information via public media, via the regional authorities…to ensure that we don’t have crossing of the borders and we don’t have violations of the curfew in the curfew hours,” he stated.