Negative COVID test requirement for passengers travelling from China rescinded

The National COVID-19 Task Force Secretariat has rescinded its decision to have passengers travelling from the People’s Republic of China submit a negative PCR test before entry into Guyana.
This requirement was supposed to take effect from January 8, 2023, but the Secretariat has said it further considered the current global epidemiological COVID-19 situation as outlined by the World Health Organization, through collaboration with the Health Ministry’s Technical Working Group.

“It is noted that the decrease in surveillance and changes in reporting frequency had interpreted epidemiological trends as more complex. It is noted that there (are) increased hospitalisation, ICU admission, and deaths in some regions. It also noted the circulation of the highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants, such as XBB, XBB 1.5, BQ1 and BA 2.75,” a notice stated.
However, according to the Task Force, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) advised that many of the new variants of omicron have been circulating in the region since early 2022, as evidenced by gene sequencing results submitted by member states. Considering that Omicron subvariants circulating in Canada, China, the United Kingdom and the United States are similar to those across the Caribbean, it has been concluded that no advantage would be gained through the testing requirements. It is against this backdrop that the decision has been annulled.
The emergency of COVID has caused several countries to re-implement travel restrictions. As such, passengers should always carry relevant documents of their vaccination status; be aware of the testing requirements of their country of destination; and should be able to provide documentation of recovering from COVID-19 if they had previously tested positive.
A message from the Task Force added, “The Task Force will like to remind the general public to adhere to all Public Health Safety Measures, adhere to social distancing, and ensure that they get their booster shots. Their booster shots are recommended especially among older people and those with comorbidity.”
Globally, there have been over 657 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6.6 million deaths, reported to World Health Organization. As at December 2022, over 13 billion vaccine doses had been administered.
Since June last year, the Guyana Government lifted the COVID-19 testing requirement for international travel. Then, in October, persons travelling to Guyana no longer needed to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19.