Prioritise tells Health Ministry P

12 SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS T he Public Health Ministry is conducting many unnecessary tests for COVID-19 on persons who do not require such testing at this time, causing the country’s positive rate to drop.

This is according to Country Representative of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Dr William Adu-Krow, who stated that while there are adequate testing kits, health authorities should prioritise these cases to yield better results.

As of Thursday, over 90 per cent of the 1559 samples tested returned negative. “We should have enough to test everybody that needs to be tested. My problem is the positive rate, the number of persons who are positive. After testing a whole lot of people, it keeps falling. That means we are testing too many people who don’t need to be tested. Because if you are testing less and less number of positives, then we need to be very careful…One day, we tested 50-something and that day we only had a few positives out of that,” he explained.

Dr Adu-Krow further related that this premature testing produces negative results, even though a person is positive. He advised that testing should be done after symptoms are presented.

“Having said that, 37 per cent of our population happens to be persons who are not showing any symptoms, asymptomatic but they have it. The good thing is that we don’t need to test those people immediately because if you test them, they might not convert to positive. It would still be negative and you would think they don’t have it when they have something.”

He added, “We say normally, look out for symptoms. Let’s see whether, after five to seven days, the person develops symptoms. Then you know that the person has actually gotten the condition. If we do that, we would have more than necessary to test people that need to be tested.”

Lockdown

Caretaker President, David Granger recently announced that the national curfew would ‘remain’, as the June 3 deadline was soon to expire.

According to Adu-Krow, PAHO had already formulated their statistics, which showed that 10,777 cases were the likely figure by June 15 if the lockdown and curfew were indeed relaxed.

“If we lift everything on June 3, we are likely, by July 15, to see 10,777 cases. That’s if we lift everything. If we go by a phased approach, the number goes down. We have made some suggestions to Government,” he asserted.

He went on to say that while Guyana has adequate mechanisms to safeguard the population, these measures are being disregarded by citizens who continue to congregate or flout the curfew.

“We cannot do that. The rule says nobody can go out unless it’s for an essential purpose or the person belongs to an essential group of persons…That’s not what’s

PAHO Country Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow

Prioritise COVID-19 tests to yield better results – PAHO tells Health Ministry O ver the past week, officers of the City C o n s t a b u l a r y Department have arrested 41 persons for allegedly breaching the 6 pm to 6 am curfew.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) on Friday said, via its Facebook page, that these persons were placed on $10,000 station bail each, and are expected to appear in court to answer the charges next week.

The M&CC also recently announced that it was stepping up efforts to ensure that both shoppers and vendors comply with the necessary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Enforcement of these national guidelines, he also noted, needs urgent attention. The PAHO representative advised that the lockdown should be continued at least for another two weeks, before reconsidering any opening.

“We have measures, if enforced, could take us a long way. If not enforced, then we are likely to have problems. If I had my own way, I’d probably extend the measures for about two weeks and then enforce them; and then begin a phased approach. That would be my recommendation. It is up to Government to decide.”

A few days ago, 51 vendors, who were found operating without a face mask, were fined $5000 each. These vendors were found operating at Albouystown, Stabroek, and Bourda Markets.

“The Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown implores all citizens to observe the COVID-19 precautionary guidelines set out by the Ministry of Public Health. We have to work together to beat COVID-19,” the M&CC had said. happening…We better take it seriously…The only thing I would say is that we have to be careful…when they did the assessment in the whole Latin America and the Caribbean, it was realised that our measures are about 74 per cent in target, so it’s quite high. The problem that we have is that we are not enforcing them,” Dr Adu-Krow lamented.

She also spoke about protecting youths from industry manipulation, since companies are known to employ tactics to attract people.

Nicotine is now available in many forms, different packaging and flavours, causing people to underestimate the risks involved in using them.

Government’s Tobacco Control Bill provides that public smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products, such as cigars, will be prohibited by law. Moreover, no person shall be permitted to smoke in any waiting area or queue in a public place.

Those public places include, but are not limited to, any public transport stop, bus stand, or bus park. Smoking would also be prohibited in any park, playground, or amusement park; any stadium, arena, or any kind of sport of performance place; or any space for commercial service of food or drinks.

The Act says it shall also be illegal for persons to smoke in any area within five metres of a window, door, or ventilation inlet to any public place or indoor workplace. Smoking shall also be prohibited anywhere on the premises of — or within five metres from the outside boundary of — any healthcare, educational or child care facility.

Tobacco Control Bill without... FROM PAGE 10

On Thursday, it was reported that the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) is considering a phased reopening of Guyana’s airports which have, since March 18, been closed to incoming commercial flights.

PAHO had initially projected in March that Guyana would record some 20,000 cases of COVID-19 infection. But the PAHO/WHO Country Representative explained that this projection was in the event that the country did nothing to curb the spread. 41 persons charged for breaking curfew in Georgetown

Part Five, Section 16 (3) of the Act states “Any person who smokes in any place where smoking is prohibited commits an offence, and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10,000 for the first offence, and $20,000 for any second or subsequent offence.”

The bill provides for a number of other fines and penalties, ranging from $200,000 - and six-months’ imprisonment. Corporate bodies can also face fines of up to $9 million for infringing on the ban regarding advertising. The advertising ban includes promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, even by electronic delivery systems.