NEWS
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FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Hotel owners, Venezuelans among 22 charged for breaking curfew form persons about the regulations governing adherence to the curfew and social distancing, and have been visiting congested areas like commercial banks and utility companies to advise persons about the need to maintain the physical distance stipulated. Corriverton Mayor Winston Roberts, in an invited comment, said persons who operate beauty salons have not been adhering
By Andrew Carmichael
A
s curfew measures remain in place for the next month, Police in Berbice have brought some 22 persons before the court for breaking the curfew, and among those charged are the owners of the Mahogany Hotel in Corriverton, Region Six (East Berbice - Corentyne) and seven Venezuelan nationals. Owners of the Mahogany Hotel, Sherwin Paterson and Carlos Angel, appeared at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to answer the charge of breach of restriction on social activity. Charged with the same offence were Venezuelan nationals Buonetina Hanrigues Nellivi; Teleedo Mandoza Maria DeJesus, and Zorrill Yanklidy Caroline, all of the Mahogany Hotel. Also charged with the same offence were Nikol Rodrigues of 50 Public Road, Number 78 Village; Mopta Guzman Poola Yanireth, Moita Guzman Fabiola Yanireth, and Brehopat Revhow Joshua of Little Africa in Corriverton. Mopta, Moita and Brehopat were additionally charged with breach of restriction to
home. Besides those named above, Vikash Singh of Mahogany; Mario Dave of 50 Public Road, Number 78 Village; Bertly Small of Rahaman’s Park, Corriverton; Oncil Lewis of Line Path, Skeldon; Tameshwar Basdeo of Number 64 Village; Lennox Ronaldeo of Number 79 Village; Calvin Douglas of Number 54 Village; Arjan Jagdeo of Corriverton; Savitri Maniran of Crabwood Creek; Ramnarine Simmonds of Number 69 Village, and Kevin Rambarran and Richard Jeffrey, both of Number 78 Village, where also charged for breaching curfew measures. The Police Prosecutor, Inspector Orin Joseph, told the court that the plaintiffs were all at a party held at the Mahogany Hotel on Tuesday evening. They were each placed on $10,000 bail, and will make their next court appearance on Thursday, May 14. Police at Springlands have been collaborating with the Community Policing Group (CPG) and the Corriverton Municipality to enforce the curfew measures. They have been using mobile loudspeakers to in-
force the law and charge violators. “Some people in Berbice -especially on the Corentyne -- are going about their business as normal; a few ‘rum shops’ and ‘barbershops’ are still operating. The Police can only do so much, but proprietors and individuals must be health conscious and not put other people’s lives at risk,” he said. He added that some persons seem not to understand the seriousness of COVID-19. “I also want to high-
to the measures outlined by the NCTF. However, he noted that while hotels are considered essential businesses, many of those have been violating the curfew measures. “One evening, I passed and saw a crowd in front of Reno Hotel and Mahogany Hotel, and I went and informed the Police. The proprietors were called in, and the Police spoke with them. Shortly after, the crowd was dispersed,” Mayor Roberts said. He noted that some roadside food vendors had also not been adhering to the guidelines. Meanwhile, Prime Ministerial Regional Representative Gobin Harbhajan, weighing in on the issue, has said he supports the efforts by the Police in the Region to en-
Businessman moves ahead with $200M lawsuit against Harris, Guyana Chronicle
L
ess than a week after prominent businessman Tamesh Jagmohan of El Dorado Mining threatened to sue the Guyana Chronicle and one of its columnists, Adam Harris for publishing what he described as an erroneous accusation against himself, he is moving ahead with a $200 million lawsuit. In a column titled “PPP financier hosted the diplomatic mission on Election Day”, published on May 3, Harris made several allegations about the businessman. Attorney-at-Law Glenn Hanoman, who is representing the businessman, has since dispatched a letter to Harris and the Guyana Chronicle, refuting the claims. According to Jagmohan, Harris’ column is a “manifes-
Columnist Adam Harris
to of mistruths” and publishing it caused immense damage to his reputation and distress to him and his family. Jagmohan alleged that Harris, a veteran media professional, made no attempt to fact check his claims and that the column “falls far be-
low the standards of an experienced columnist in a newspaper owned and funded by the State.” As such, Jagmohan demanded that the offending column be immediately retracted from the newspaper’s website as well as online archive. In addition, he demanded that any links or posts to the column be deleted from the newspaper’s social media pages. However, Guyana Times understands that the businessman and Harris had a confrontation at the CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown on Tuesday where Harris retracted the allegations contained in the column and apologised. Nevertheless, despite him apologising, the article was not retracted and as such, the businessman is pursuing legal action.
light that, over the past few months, many Guyanese have died abroad (New York) and their families in Guyana are doing services for the deceased, and these pandits and priests are performing these services, which will see large gatherings,” Harbhajan noted. Those religious leaders, he posited, need to use their influence to educate persons, rather than try to make money in a way that is against the COVID- 19 guidelines.
Palms Geriatric Home staff quarantined
…as Guyana’s 10th COVID-19 fatality lived at facility
T
he World Health Organisation (WHO) says that persons with pre-existing conditions and the elderly are more at risk when it comes to contracting the novel coronavirus and thus far, five of Guyana’s 10 COVID-19 fatalities fall in the elderly category. The latest COVID-19 death in Guyana is Bhaneshwar Ramdial. However, the elderly Ramdial may have unknowingly put numerous other seniors at risk, since he was a resident at the Palms Geriatric Home. The elderly man was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital on May 1 after he was suspected of having the virus. It was reported that he presented with all of the symptoms and because of his age and other factors, those symptoms became severe. He would die just a few hours after he was admitted a patient at the hospital, A test conducted posthumously revealed that the
elderly Ramdial was positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, the Public Health Ministry did not make the death public until May 5 – four days after. The man’s death has raised many questions given that the Home caters for a number of senior residents, all of whom have some form of pre-existing conditions namely diabetes, cholesterol and hypertension among others. There are currently 194 residents in the Palms.
Staff, residents in quarantine
It is believed that some of the residents and staff members may have contracted the disease. This has caused the administrators of the Palms Geriatric Home to place a number of staff and residents under quarantine. The Home also improved its sanitisation protocols. While Guyana’s COVID-19 cases have not increased in two days, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr
Shamdeo Persaud stated that there were alarming statistics, particularly in the number of male deaths recorded. Ten persons have since lost their lives to COVID-19. The first virus-related death was confirmed after 52-yearold Ratna Baboolall of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD) died on March 11. The woman travelled from New York, where it is believed that she contracted the virus, to Guyana. After posthumous tests confirmed that Baboolall was carrying the virus, other family members were quarantined and tested, adding to the country’s positive statistics. Also among the dead are 38-year-old Jermaine Ifill, 78-year-old Osa Collins, 59-year-old Shadrach Stoll, 38-year-old Deryck Jaisingh, 45-year-old Lennox Williams, 49-yearold visually-impaired Sydney Trellis and 77-yearold Colonel John Percy Leon Lewis.
