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Ten Guyanese held in Brazil for crossing border illegally – As country sees surge in COVID -19 cases
At least 10 persons were arrested in Brazil for entering the country illegally to seek employment.
Kaieteur News understands that the Brazilian authorities made the arrests near the border and the detainees were taken into quarantine for 14 days.
Brazil has closed its border to Guyana since March.
A police source in Lethem related that members of the Guyana Police Force have been working with their Brazilian counterparts to stop persons from crossing the border illegally.
“At present, the border is closed to traffic. Only nationals of either Brazil or Guyana are allowed to travel to the home country. What we understand is that the persons who were arrested had been over there without documents looking for work.”
Scores of people have been slipping through the Lethem/Brazil border despite reports of an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring country.
According to reports published by the Business Insider, as of Friday evening, Brazil, which has a population of 209 million, had 91,589 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,329 deaths from the virus. That makes the country’s per-capita death rate 3.02 deaths per 100,000 people.
News sources in Brazil reported on a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the Roraima State which close the border.
A news bulletin issued on Sunday informs that the State has recorded 1,414 notifications to COVID-19 so far. The Epidemiological Bulletin released by the Government of Roraima, records 11 deaths and 740 confirmed cases of Covid -19.
However the figures are not enough to deter residents of Lethem and Bon Fim nearby border towns from crossing over into Brazil or to Guyana by the dozens at a time, despite the presence of 24 hour police patrol.
Brazil had issued a temporary lockdown of the crossing due to the coronavirus last March. That lockdown has been extended to another month, according to news sources in Brazil.
However Kaieteur News understands that Lethem residents have been crossing over to Brazil to escape the economic downturn in Region Nine. A resident of Lethem explained that since the partial lockdown in March, “the Chinese stores and most other businesses with the exception of a few restaurants have been closed.”
“Without work, people in Lethem are finding it hard to provide for their families.”
On Sunday, Commander of Police for Region Nine, Superintendant Keithon King, told Kaieteur News that he is aware of the illegal crossings at some points of the border.
“Due to the dry weather, persons were able to drive across the border at various points.
“We do not have the manpower to patrol the entire border so what we found is that people were able to come across at some isolated areas.”
“With the rains, the waters will rise in the Takatu River and help prevent people from crossing easily.”
Commander King nonetheless noted that the police have seized four boats and several motorcycles at the border since the lockdown.
“We had to seize the illegal items after the River dried up. People often smuggle items through the borders at these points.
“But at this point, the borders are closed. The only people allowed to come to Guyana are nationals of this country and likewise only Brazilians to enter Brazil.
“We also have a facility here to quarantine persons for fourteen days once they cleared at the correct checkpoint to come into the country. Of course, we are concerned about the illegal crossing, but we are doing the best we can to patrol the border with the resources available to us,” he said.
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