…Region 9 REO appeals to residents to adhere to COVID-19 regulations
…says many flouting guidelines; involved in people-smuggling

By Naomi Parris

The Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Nine, Carl Parker, on Friday, disclosed to the Guyana chronicle, that, despite the rising number of cases within the region, reports have been made of residents smuggling and hiding their relatives who crossed over the Brazil border illegally.

Additionally, he stated that authorities also received reports of persons flouting the mandatory social distancing rule and hosting social gatherings.
Parker noted that such was revealed during a meeting held by the regional committee earlier in the week, “We had our regional health emergency operations committee meeting on Wednesday, where the Toshao for Aishalton and we did report at that meeting that residents are smuggling their relatives from across the border illegally and are hiding them in the village.”

He added, “Apparently, these guys are just bringing in their relatives at night or whenever and hiding them in the village.”
Despite having a system in place to screen and isolate persons travelling from Brazil in order to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Parker stated that there is not much the health authorities can do since they have limited resources and it’s difficult for them to cover a border of over 1,000 miles.

“There is nothing much we can do about that, we have 57 villages and one municipality [overlooking] twenty three thousand square miles and that is a challenge in itself. In addition, we have a very large border with Brazil…we in the region here don’t have adequate equipment. We are trying here with what we have, but we can certainly do with more,” Parker said.

He added that while the respective authorities are working around the clock there is only so much, they can do, hence persons should adhere to the guidelines and desist from carrying on with life as if it is per normal in an abnormal situation.
However, the REO disclosed that, in an effort to secure the border, authorities had employed residents to assist with securing the borders and border patrol. However, persons have managed to find ways to enter into the country illegally.

“When COVID-19 started the RHEOC [Regional Health Emergency Operations Centre] agreed to employ the services of the Amerindian community that are located on the border to assist in the fight against COVID-19 but we are losing that fight,” Parker said.
Additionally, the REO related that he is baffled as to why residents are still not adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines as the RHEOC had a vigorous education and awareness campaign, sending messages in all forms as well as in several different languages including, Macushi, Akawaio, Wai-Wai, Spanish and Portuguese.

“I don’t think it’s the lack of knowledge, because, at the beginning of this pandemic, we have been sending out constant messages via radio, flyers and other media.
Nevertheless, Parker disclosed that the RHEOC is in the works of collaborating with a non-governmental organization, Break Through, and the Guyana Tourism Authority to adopt a communications strategy to create specific messages to target those villages that are not adhering to the necessary guidelines.

Parker added that he is hopeful that, with the completion and implementation of a new and advanced communications strategy, the RHEOC will be able to educate more hinterland residents about the virus and its effects.

As to date, Brazil has over 2.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 81,487 deaths according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Meanwhile, Region Nine has confirmed 18 COVID-19 cases of which 11 were imported from Brazil. Of the 18, there are 13 active cases, one death and four recoveries.

Contact tracing revealed that over 250 persons in the North and South Rupununi have been in contact with the persons who later tested positive for COVID-19.