House Speaker Nadir, family COVID positive

Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 December 2020, 17:53 by Denis Chabrol

House Speaker Manzoor Nadir on Tuesday said he and three members of his family have been tested positive for the coronavirus, COVID-19.

His disclosure came one day after he presided over a parliamentary sitting virtually because he was not feeling well and had hoped that it was not COVID-19.

Mr. Nadir told News-Talk radio Guyana that he started feeling unwell, including a headache, and decided to  take a test.

He says four of his five family members are now isolated for the next 14 days beginning Tuesday.

The House Speaker says his wife first had the symptoms on Christmas Day and then he started feeling unwell on Boxing Day.

Asked whether he believed that the time has come for Parliamentarians to be tested routinely, Mr. Nadir said anyone with the symptoms should get tested. “I think people should be tested if you have the symptoms. If you have the symptoms, there is no need to walk around with it,” he told News-Talk Radio/ Demerara Waves Online News.

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday said there were now three new cases and 45 recoveries within the past 24 hours.

Seven persons are receiving intensive care and five others have been isolated, while 348 persons have agreed to isolate themselves at home. Seventeen others are quarantined at a government medical facility.

Those who have passed away still total 164.