Guyana to introduce vaccine requirements for arriving passengers

Countries around the world have taken a stance to introduce COVID-19 vaccine requirements in order for foreigners to gain entry, and Guyana will soon follow suit.
During his presidential briefing to the nation on Monday, President Irfaan Ali shared that the pandemic has proven to be a fierce battle for Governments globally – all of whom are grappling to protect their population.
Recently, a decision was also taken at the level of the Caricom Heads of Government meeting, where persons within the region are allowed to travel freely regardless of which vaccine they are administered with. Only Trinidad and Tobago had opposed this position. But Ali said a holistic decision is in the pipeline for international travel.
“This is not an easy battle and any decision you make in this battle has elements of risk. You just have to measure those elements of risk and make the best possible decision in the holistic interest of the country. Yes, vaccination requirement will be put in place like many other countries for persons arriving in Guyana. For a matter of fact, Caricom at the last Heads of Government meeting took a united position on this that for Caricom nationals – Trinidad and Tobago did not agree with this component of it – but Caricom leaders said that any regional national will be allowed into any country in the region regardless of which vaccines they took,” said Ali.
Just last week, Government made a decision that non-Guyanese passengers travelling from Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana, with the exception of children, should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be allowed entry into the country. The gazetted document, published as of July 23, 2021, was signed by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill.
However, generally, Guyana accepts a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival.
The Head of State’s announcement comes as authorities advance efforts to raise local vaccination numbers in order to reach herd immunity. Addressing immunisation numbers, he reiterated that an unvaccinated population creates risks for the country and moreover, the economy.
“For me, nothing can be excellent if one life is lost. That is why I’m so impatient when it comes to the vaccination programme because I am aware of the impact of COVID on the economy and country if people are not vaccinated. That is what worries me. In the context of what is happening around us and the development of this virus and the modelling of the virus…we have done the best we could under the circumstances.”
As it pertains to immunising children, he said that Government is still trying to secure Pfizer shots. On that same note, Ali asserted that children cannot be exposed to unvaccinated teachers.
He expressed, “I think teachers have the greatest responsibility to lead and I’m hoping they provide that leadership and that they get vaccinated. We surely cannot expose the children to unvaccinated teachers.”
Reflecting on the past year and managing the pandemic in Guyana, it was pointed out that the PPP/C Administration has invested billions of dollars and other resources to detect, treat, monitor and prevent a surge in infections. This is despite inheriting the sector when little was done to manage COVID-19.
“When we came into Government, we did not have a COVID facility. We had to invest resources in bringing the Ocean View facility into operation. We pursued the vaccination; we pursued a strategy from the management for COVID. Now look at what our position is compared to many others. I am not going to name any country. I am not going to name any region. Many healthcare professionals regionally and internationally have said to us that we have done, in their own words, an excellent job.”