— to help mitigate further spread of COVID-19

A 06:00 hours to 18:00 hours (6AM to 6PM) curfew has been introduced in the village of Moraikobai, in Region Five, to add to the efforts being engaged in to mitigate the further spread of the virus, COVID-19 there.

On Tuesday, Region Five recorded 35 new cases, taking the total number of cases recorded in the region to 148 and Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said that 33 of those positive cases were recorded in Moraikobai. These 33 positive results were garnered from a total of 71 tests done there. Since then, health officials returned to the village to conduct further testing.

On Friday, Dr. Anthony said that a team of health officials, regional officials and law enforcement officers went into Moraikobai on Thursday and engaged the residents on the health situation.

“They had discussions with the residents, from the report I received, it seems the residents are more receptive, more people are cooperating, they have agreed that they will abide by a (6AM to 6PM) curfew,” Dr. Anthony highlighted.

He explained that the residents are still allowed to move about and engage in their economic activity during the day, since this curfew is not a complete lockdown as other communities had.

There is currently a national curfew in place to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in Guyana; this curfew begins at 22:30 hours daily and ends at 04:00 hours. The spike in cases observed in Moraikobai has, however, prompted a lengthier curfew.

The team also spoke to bar owners in the community, encouraging them to comply with the COVID-19 regulations which indicate that bars, rumshops and other such entertainment spots should not be open. Many additional COVID-19 tests have been done and the results are expected shortly.

“Hopefully we’ll start seeing an improvement in terms of compliance with the regulations and the medical team will continue to do testing and monitor those currently isolated to see whether or not they develop additional symptoms,” Dr. Anthony said.

60 NEW CASES

Meanwhile, the country recorded 60 new cases of COVID-19 according to the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Dashboard for January 15. These new cases take the country’s total to 6,805 cases recorded since March 2020.

The new cases were recorded in Region One (three cases), Region Two (six cases), Region Three (six cases), Region Four (28 cases), Region Five (one case), Region Six (nine cases), Region Eight (six cases) and Region 10 (one case). And, they were recorded from 361 tests done.

Additionally, a total of 6,083 persons infected by COVID-19 have recovered with 15 more persons recovering over the last 24-hour period. Even so, there are 586 active cases. Four of these active cases are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 493 in home isolation, 34 in institutional quarantine, and 55 in institutional isolation. The total number of deaths has remained at 170.

The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force from January 1, 2021, until January 31, 2021. They may be extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Health, after an assessment of the prevailing public health conditions of the pandemic.

As per the current measures; however, all persons are required to wear face masks when leaving their homes. Physical distancing and adequate sanitisation are also important. The current curfew time is 22:30 hours to 04:00 hours. Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166; 226-7480; or 180/181 for assistance.