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Persons travelling from China to Guyana “likely” to be denied entry – Foreign Affairs Minister
The Foreign Affairs Ministry declared yesterday that persons from China who plan on travelling to Guyana are “likely” to be denied entry, as the life-threatening Coronavirus continues to spread at a remarkable rate. Further to this, the Ministry advised those in Guyana who wish to travel to China, to postpone their plans.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karen Cummings
The Foreign Affairs Ministry was also important to highlight that persons arriving in Guyana from China will be subject to quarantine protocols in a health facility or at their home, depending on the outcome of the Health Ministry’s risk assessment.
As the deadly virus continues to spread, Foreign Affairs Minister Karen Cummings, is mulling over the decision to cease issuing visas to China, and temporarily close the Guyanese Embassy located in Beijing.
But more importantly, Minister Cummings revealed that the Government is looking to bring home two Guyanese students on scholarships in Wuhan, where the virus was first reported.
“Of course efforts are being made to bring them over. I think they have to work with the Chinese advisory. Where [these Guyanese students] are in Wuhan, if they want to move from station to station… they have to be quarantined for about 14 days. They are safe up to now, we have not heard anything and we hope that they will continue to be safe,” Minister Cumming stated to this publication on Friday.
She added that the Government is in direct contact with the students and they plan on meeting with the parents of those students, today.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese authorities confirmed that the Novel Coronavirus, similar to the virus that causes the common cold, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), has afflicted over 7,000 in the Chinese mainland and other territories.
Although the infected cases have been confirmed in several other countries including the USA, fatalities have been limited to China. While the death rate associated with the virus is low at around two percent the infection rate, its spread, has been termed “worrying” by the WHO.
Common symptoms of the virus include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, with more severe infections can cause pneumonia, kidney failure and even death.
Guyana’s Public Health Ministry along with the Pan American Health Organization – World Health Organization (PAHO- WHO) had emphatically stated that the country’s health sector is prepared to screen, detect, isolate and treat the deadly virus, should it arrive on the country’s shores.
During a press conference held on Monday, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence confirmed that there are no cases of the deadly virus in Guyana.
Nevertheless, those who must travel to and from China were advised to take precautions against contracting the virus by avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections, crowds and the consumption of uncooked food; universal precautions to take include the frequent washing of hands, especially after direct contact with ill persons or their environment.
Travelers with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should also practice cough etiquette, that is, maintain distance from others, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissue or clothing, and also frequently washing their hands.
Should flu-like symptoms arise within 14 days after return to Guyana from China or another highly affected country, persons are asked to call the hotline on +592 227 8683 extension 215.
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