Guyana is not alone in its COVID-19 measures

Sep 10, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, is yet again ‘true to form.’ He is now urging the Government to revoke the new COVID-19 measure, on access to public buildings. He, of all people, is saying that this move is “wholly authoritarian.” Well, quickly let me say that he can resort to challenges at the legal level, but for now, I have a few things for him and others to think about.
Back in March 2021, Chief Executive, Alan Joyce, of Australian airline, Qantas, told the BBC that “governments are going to insist” on vaccines for international travellers. According to him, “Coronavirus vaccines are seen as crucial to reviving an industry that saw worldwide passenger numbers fall 75.6 percent last year.” The CEO said that many governments were talking about vaccination as “a condition of entry,” and that even if they weren’t, he thought the airline should enforce its own policy.
I point anti-vaccinators and the Harmon crew to Canada, and this is as recent as last month. The news is still fresh as Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said that he’s considering making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for federal employees, a move health and labour experts say could set an example, but would have to be a decision backed by science. Well, the science of COVID-19 is well established. I repeat, however, that vaccination is the best choice, if not the only one at times. In Quebec, one of the provinces of Canada, Premier Francois Legault, announced that his province would be instituting a vaccine passport, amid concerns over rising case counts. And I add that the Prime Minister said he’s also looking at whether new requirements to either require or encourage vaccination would be necessary in federal workplaces or in federally regulated industries, such as banking, rail and air travel, and Parliament. So where is Harmon going with his talk of ‘authoritarian rule?’
So, I agree with the corresponding move here in Guyana. It serves the bigger purpose, and it is the way of many countries, if not most, and soon all. Now, I hope that we will all comply, as stipulated in the Official Gazette, under the COVID-19 Emergency measures “that vaccination is mandatory for any person who wishes to enter a public building, privately owned building and an institution of learning.”
Harmon is making a claim that this “… effectively mandates and imposes vaccination on every citizen, and for him, “This measure runs contrary to all the tenets of personal liberties, including an individual’s freedom of conscience as enshrined in Article 147 of the Constitution.” Like I said, and I repeat. Harmon has choices; he can resort to the court. He is rather uninformed or is ‘turning a blind eye,’ in saying that “The PPP must immediately cease and desist from the wild and reckless approach it has adopted which only benefits its acolytes and financiers and leaves the people of the nation isolated, locked out and vulnerable.” Well, he has to substantiate this. Currently, the Government is going the extra-mile to promote vaccination, rendering assistance in terms of goods and monies, and seeking to enforce COVID-19 safety protocols and best practices. I urge all to be compliant, so that all Guyana can benefit and move on from COVID-19.

Yours truly,
Attiya Baksh

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