–visitors still required to show proof of vaccination upon arrival to Guyana

THE Ministry of Health, on Friday, announced the removal of COVID-19 testing requirements for international travellers.
In a post on its Facebook page, the ministry announced that the relaxation of this measure took effect from Friday.

This decision comes just days after the United States announced the removal of similar measures for international travellers.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event at the Ministry of Health, on Friday, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, said that local health authorities have been monitoring the country’s COVID-19 situation and this decision is an outcome of that process.

When the Guyana Chronicle asked what the determining factor was, the Health Minister said authorities decided on removing the testing requirement after examining where the country is in relation to the rate of vaccination and the current capacity to treat and deal with COVID-19 cases here.

“So, having looked at where we are in terms of vaccination, we felt very comfortable that we can now remove the requirement for antigen or PCR testing. However, for travellers into Guyana, we will still maintain that they have to produce their vaccination cards before they are allowed to board,” Dr. Anthony said.

With that, the Health Minister said it was observed that Guyana’s vaccination numbers are high, with first doses at 86 per cent and second doses just around 68 per cent.
He then said that while they would like the numbers to be higher, the country is still in a good position to remove such measures.

Similarly, the Health Minister said that after looking at data as it relates to treatment, he noted that even if the country is to get more positive cases, health facilities have adequate capacity to treat those patients.
He said: “Even if we have people who are positive, we have enough capacity to be able to treat people whether they are in hospital [or not] because the Ocean View facility, we have 198 beds there so if people get sick, we can deal with any surge.”