COVID-19 curfew in Region 10

Last Updated on Thursday, 26 March 2020, 19:17 by Writer

A 6pm to 6am curfew will be imposed on all populated areas in Region 10 from Saturday, March 28 as part of efforts to curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Linden Mayor and Town Council announced.

Authorities warned that “citizens found on the street may be detained.”

The Town Council says the regional curfew will be imposed on Linden, Ituni, Kwakani, Coomaka, 47 mile, 58 mile, Anarika, Rockstone and all population centers in Region 10, beginning Saturday 28th March 2020.

Authorities said all businesses must be closed from 6pm to 6am, except for supermarkets and pharmacies, which will close from 7pm to 6am.

The Linden Town C0uncil says all citizens, except essential workers—nurses, police, military, water and electricity—with identification cards must be in their homes from 8pm until 5am.

Businesses are directed to offer only take-out and delivery services and cease all dining
and drinking in services.

The Ministry of Communities has directed the formation of a Regional Health Emergency Committee (RHEC) including representatives of the regional administration, municipality, police, fire, Guyana Defence Force and Customs.

There are also subcommittees for Health & Welfare, Safety & Security, Business & Transportation, Communications, and Logistics. The committee is a 24-hour operation with the full committee meeting every 48 hours.

The Linden Town Council urged citizens to follow all sanitary guidelines and wash and sanitize their hands regularly and avoid crowds. If anyone in Linden feels ill, he or she can call the hotline numbers-444-6127, 444-6137, 231-1166, 226-7480, 7180.

The announcement of the curfew came one day after government’s National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) warned that Guyana might have to follow several other countries in curtailing the movement of people in an effort to curb the disease that has already claimed the life of one person and afflicted four others.

“As such the NCTF is both monitoring the conduct of the citizenry and considering various measures, including extreme measures, which have been instituted in other countries, to impose restrictions on the movement of persons for a defined period until the threat is abated,” the task force has noted.