THE Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has joined forces with stakeholders in the local mining sector, to make the industry more resilient against the direct effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
With mining being listed as an essential service amidst the pandemic, stakeholders thought it best to engage PAHO on ways the sector could build resilience and do its part to guard against the spread of COVID-19.
President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Andron Alphonso, said the association is working closely with PAHO to establish “long term” guidelines, which are industry-specific.
“These guidelines are being established with the aim of protecting staff and helping to protect against the potential spread of the virus as a consequence of us (miners) traversing through communities and operating near vulnerable communities,” said Alphonso during a press briefing hosted by the Private Sector Commission (PSC), on Thursday.
Health authorities have time and again warned “mining regions” to be extra cautious because of the “heavy traffic” in and out of communities within those regions.
The traffic in those communities remain high because the gold and diamond mining sector remains “essential” and is fully operational.
The Guyana Chronicle had reported that Indigenous villages are highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this vulnerability could be exacerbated if persons, particularly miners and residents of neighbouring Brazil, who test positive for the disease, knowingly enter those villages.
It is against this background that the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) had suggested that legal charges be instituted against miners and persons, who test positive for the disease in Brazil, and purposely visit Indigenous villages in Guyana.
“The controversial issue of mining being declared an ‘essential service’ is also at the centre of this problem. Many ordinary Guyanese are struggling to provide for their families while abiding by the lockdown, while miners are driving 500 miles through Amerindian communities, putting many people at serious risk en route, is considered an essential activity,” said the GHRA.
This kind of contradiction discredits the official anti-COVID-19 strategy, fosters indignation and needs to be addressed urgently. The situation described reinforces the need to remove mining and mining-related activities from the list of essential services, which are exempt from some COVID-19 restrictions.
GHRA, therefore, called on the COVID-19 task force to take immediate steps to address all of the issues which have surfaced in Region Nine.
As with its initial response to the Toshaos, the authorities needed the stimulus of the COVID-19 infected Brazilian, who passed through many communities, before taking action. It is also noteworthy that the police in Lethem have warned they will start to prosecute people who break the curfew, said the GHRA.
The association believes that should the virus really take hold in the Rupununi, it will then definitely spread to the entire country. The association said the call for a complete lockdown of Lethem from coastal contact reflects the only realistic strategy.