– NCTF

STRANDED Guyanese who return to Guyana will be required to self-quarantine for seven days upon their arrival in the country. This information was relayed by the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) on Tuesday, for clarity.

Should plans go accordingly, the first flight of stranded Guyanese identified for controlled re-entry by the government is expected to come this week. The following week, it is hoped that another flight will bring Guyanese home from North America. On May 22, the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) announced the approval of the controlled re-entry of approximately 300 Guyanese stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.

These individuals would have registered with the various diplomatic missions on or before May 21, 2020, and will return to the country after testing negative for COVID-19. In order to make the trip home during Guyana’s existing international travel ban, persons must prove that they are COVID-19 free by submitting the necessary PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test results in English, at least 48 hours prior to their arrival in Guyana.

In addition, all persons authorised to travel have to first fill out a repatriation form provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The form collects basic contact information; travel history and medical history. Regarding the forms, prior to being accepted, every individual must agree, by way of their signature, that a negative PCR test does not necessarily exempt them from quarantine.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle last week, Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field said that the NCTF has learnt from its previous experience, whereby an overseas-based Guyanese student, who was taken into institutional quarantine upon his arrival here in March from Barbados, took the matter to court.

Though he subsequently lost the case, Field said that moving forward, it will be mandatory for all returning Guyanese to agree to quarantining and other measures for their own safety and the safety of others. “For the avoidance of doubt, home quarantine means quarantining at their respective private residences. Persons are required to remain there for the duration of the seven-day period and not leave for any reason save and except to seek emergency medical care,” the NCTF said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on its Facebook page yesterday, the Ministry of Public Health provided a list of guidance tips for travellers coming to Guyana. It urged them to seek information and remain up-to-date with Guyana’s COIVD-19 emergency measures and that of the World Health Organisation; to be cooperative by submitting themselves for screening by airport officials and to ensure they have received their vaccines for yellow fever, measles and more.