— Dr. Anthony says protecting lives and livelihoods must be balanced

By Navendra Seoraj
THE need to balance the protection of lives and livelihoods has motivated government to reduce the hours of the nationwide curfew which was adjusted from 6:00pm-6:00am, to 9:00pm-4:00am.

Guyana, like many other countries around the world, has been facing the economic and socio-economic challenges stemming from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. And, striking a balance between protecting lives and maintaining economic stability is no easy task, but government plans to reduce the “economic strain” by allowing persons to safely conduct their daily activities for longer hours.

COVID-19 has infected 2,929 persons and claimed 85 of those lives, but on the other hand the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned of the need to adopt immediate strategies to face the labour crisis caused by COVID-19, which has led to the loss of at least 34 million jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Guyana has not been immune to the impact of COVID-19 as there have been job losses, reduction in business and declines in many sectors.
“The reality is we cannot keep the people depending…and not being able to conduct normal activities will lead to protest and rebellion against what we want to achieve…we want to curb the spread, but the reality is people need food, water and they have to work,” said Prime Minister Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips, during a press briefing on Thursday.
The Prime Minister said it is imperative for government to find the right balance which will protect persons and their livelihoods.
The reduced curfew, which will serve as one of these methods, was gazetted along with other measures which will expire on October 31, 2020. The measures also include allowing outdoor dining up to 8:00pm and permitting salons and other businesses to open until the same time.
“We want the right balance where people could have the opportunity to conduct normal activities, but they need to observe the measures which include social distancing and wearing a mask,” said Prime Minister Phillips.
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said the decision to reduce the hours for the curfew was not made without proper consideration and consultations.

LOSS OF INCOME

Dr. Anthony referred to a United Nations (UN) survey on Caribbean COVID-19 food security and livelihood impact, which revealed that six out of 10 respondents experienced job losses or a decline in salaries.
“The disruption to livelihood was widespread… two in three persons said their ability to earn was impacted because they could not leave home,” said Dr. Anthony, adding: “We are trying to have a balance between protecting lives and livelihoods… if we reduce the hours of curfew, people will be allowed to carry out economic activities under strict rules.”
Persons, although having more time to conduct their daily activities, will have to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Government also announced that businesses which break the rules once will be warned, but if they commit the offence a second time, the business will be closed.
It was reported that the Government of Guyana had done a rapid assessment of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and found that it was fragmented and incapable of administering the public health, economic and social measures needed to keep the population safe.
“The Government of Guyana has initiated a complete overhaul of the current public health response. Government has looked at the approach used in other territories, especially in the Caribbean, and has resolved that a multi-sector and multi-faceted approach has been the most successful model, with an aggressive policy of detection, contact tracing and, if positive, isolation,” said authorities in a previous report.

Part of the renewed approach to fighting COVID-19 includes mass testing, something which has proven successful in detecting cases which could have gone “under the radar.”
Authorities have so far tested 14,309 persons, with 11,380 being negative and 2,929 positive. Of the positive cases, 1,760 persons have recovered and 85 persons have lost their lives. The remaining cases include 142 persons in institutional isolation, 931 in home isolation and 14 in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).