– as COVID-19 cases reach 30 in Siparuta
IN an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the small indigenous community of Siparuta, located along the Corentyne River, travel restrictions between the two communities have been halted as of Monday.
Toshao Carl Peneux told the Guyana Chronicle that the situation is being monitored and a gate has been constructed at Taraculi that connects the community by land. Further, travelling by river to and from either community has been restricted.
On Saturday, Siparuta recorded 16 cases of the virus, and on Monday another 14 cases were recorded, taking the number to 30. Peneux, on Tuesday afternoon, stated that a number of test results are still pending as he fears the numbers may increase.
However, a team of medical officials are on the ground conducting mass testing in both villages.
Among the positive cases was a pregnant woman who had to be rushed
out of the community after she began experiencing difficulty breathing.
Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, David Armogan, during a virtual press conference on Monday, told reporters that additional medical staff will be sent in and that testing will continue until almost everyone is tested in those areas.
The chairman has identified Vryman’s Erven, Angoy’s Avenue in New Amsterdam, East Canje and Siparuta as the hotspots in the region. He maintained that personal health details should not be shared and explained that for the safety of all, it is important that residents be made aware of areas that are known hotspots.
“I specifically identified these hotspots, because I was advised by some persons not to do this but it is important so that people would know how to operate in certain areas because, for the benefit of the region, I think people should know where the hot spots are,” he said.
When quizzed about the possibility of a full lockdown or partial lockdown in the region, the chairman said the situation is being closely monitored.
“We have to look at the situation carefully and we have to monitor certain areas that we have a spike in at the moment. I don’t think the national task force would allow it at this stage to lockdown the whole region because we don’t seem to have problems in the entire region. As
we do contact tracing more and more areas will be identified. If it escalates to a level at which we will have to lockdown, then we would have to recommend that to the national taskforce. It’s not a decision we can make here at the regional level.”
As of Tuesday, Region Six has recorded four new cases, taking the number to 156 with six deaths. The Guyana Chronicle had reported the death of an elderly man of Siparuta who suffered a stroke and was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital where he died on Saturday morning.
He was tested prior and the test results returned positive after he died. Meanwhile, an isolation facility has been set up in Springlands, Corriverton, and persons from the riverain communities who display symptoms will be brought out and placed at the facility, while others who are not showing any symptoms will be quarantined in their respective communities.
