Gate restricting access to Karaudarnau village breached

COVID-19 threats

Village councils along the Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) stretch have been closely monitoring activities in the respective communities to avoid any further spread of the novel coronavirus.
They have restricted access into the communities through checkpoints and gates. However, on Monday night, the gate at Karaudarnau village was broken. The matter was highlighted by the South Rupununi District Council, which called on persons to respect the work of Councils to protect their people.
“Residents of Karaudarnau and people of the South Rupununi, we urge you to please respect the Village Councils’ hard work towards keeping the deadly coronavirus out of our villages. Persons in Karaudarnau have been working hard to safeguard everyone in your village,” the Council positioned.
Guyana Times was told that such actions have been reported in other communities, including St Ignatius.
The SRDC had ordered a complete lockdown for 21 villages in that district. This was in light of coronavirus being detected in Indigenous communities across the country. After the outbreak earlier this year, the District Council had blocked several illegal crossings along the Guyana-Brazil border. In a subsequent release, the SRDC had said due to the inadequate healthcare systems and supplies in the region, residents are extremely vulnerable to diseases, especially the novel coronavirus.
A few months ago, authorities in Region Nine were alarmed at the increase of the coronavirus cases in the district – the majority of which they said were imported from neighbouring Brazil.

Guyana-Brazil’s international border at the Takutu River Bridge was officially closed to prevent the spread of the deadly disease, but Brazilians were still making their way into Guyana.
Then Regional Executive Officer (REO), Carl Parker, had pointed out that the residents within the region were going about their daily business as though the country has returned to normalcy.
Moreover, the REO had expressed concerns that residents are also hiding these trespassers in their community.
The region’s first confirmed COVID-19 case was a dual citizen who had entered Guyana illegally from Brazil. He later escaped from a treatment facility in Guyana and returned to Brazil. Several persons would have been exposed here to COVID-19 as a result of his movements.