ONE hundred and sixteen persons were arrested and subsequently placed on bail as they await charges, following operation COVI-CURB in Region Six, East Berbice-Corentyne.

Regional Commander, Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan, told the Guyana Chronicle that 90 per cent of those persons were arrested for not wearing a face mask, while the others breached the curfew.
Some of those arrested include owners of supermarkets and grocery shops. The operation was conducted between Friday, November 21 and Saturday 22, 2020, throughout the region.

According to the senior cop, the operation has been ongoing but this magnitude of arrest is as a result of constant warnings being ignored.
“We realised have been warning and warning and encouraging persons to wear the face mask, but persons are still not adhering to guidelines,” Superintendent Ramlakhan told this newspaper.

Region Six has recorded 127 positive cases of COVID-19 as of November 21. As such, the Commander is urging the residents to take the virus seriously and adhere to the guidelines so as to curb the spread.

He noted that the police in the region will be intensifying the enforcement of the measures.
“They must adhere to the guidelines or they will have to face the consequences, that is, basically being prosecuted. We will continue to enforce the emergency guidelines. We are the agency responsible for enforcing; if we can’t do that, we would be doing a disservice to the nation.”

A national curfew is in place between 4:00hrs to 22:30hrs until the end of the month. Bars, nightclubs and indoor dining are prohibited.