— PAC Deputy Commissioner

SINCE the coronavirus pandemic began keeping visitors at home, just about over a year ago, the manatees and other wildlife at the Guyana Zoological Park have enjoyed the peace and quiet of their habitat; however, soon the gates to the zoo and the botanical gardens may soon be reopened to the public under strict guidelines.
This is according to Odacy Davis, Deputy Commissioner of Guyana Protected Areas Commission (PAC), who, in an exclusive interview with the Guyana chronicle, said the commission will be looking at the reopening of a number of protected areas in a phased approach.
Davis further stated that the commission will be guided by the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Task Force and, hopefully, by year-end, the public can see the reopening of the two protected areas.

“We are hoping that in the second half of the year, we will be able to reopen the Botanical Gardens, that is the next site that we will work towards and then the zoo,” she said, adding: “We will be guided by the COVID-19 situation in Guyana, the rates, if that continues to escalate then we will have to take serious consideration because we don’t want to have a situation where staff and patrons of the zoo are in contact and then there is an opportunity for the virus to move from persons to person and maybe even to the animals.”
However, Davis said before the zoo is reopened, there is still much work needed to be done to determine how the commission will approach the reopening of the facility and how tours of the park will be conducted.

“Once we open the zoo, whenever we do it, it is going to be a phased approach. We will have to determine the number of people who will be allowed in the zoo at a particular time and also guided tours.”
She stated that although the zoo has been closed for almost a year, staffers have been on duty and the organisation has been provided with all the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE).

“The staff has been working, the organisation of course has provided all the necessary materials that they need, they have to use their mask sanitise often, and they are implementing extra measures to sanitise the cages and the enclosures. As you would have known there has been a reported case of animals contracting COVID-19 in other areas so we are very conscious of this so staff they have to do testing for their temperature and ensure that they sanitise before and after.”
She added that the zoo has also ramped up its sanitation, particularly the animal cages and their quarters.
“We have also intensified our food preparation area. It’s always clean but then because of COVID you want to ensure that you are cleaning it more often. All of this is being done to ensure that staff is safe as well as the animals, especially the zoo keepers who interact with the animals.”