Businesses which are caught breaching the new COVID guidelines as outlined in the National Emergency Safety Measures No. 20 will be shut down for one month.
This has been iterated by the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) in a joint press release on Saturday. Both businesses and patrons have been urged to comply with the new guidelines.
President of THAG, Harrinand Persaud, in the statement, noted that THAG fully appreciates the magnitude of these revised guidelines on tourism and hospitality businesses in a peak period.
“However, we also recognise that these efforts are necessary for the health and safety of all. Vaccinations protect us all from becoming very ill. It ensures that we can continue to safely reopen and operate our businesses, to support the livelihoods of our staff and families. We call on all patrons to be supportive of the operations who, for their part, are complying with the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health and National COVID-19 Task Force that they may continue to serve you,” Persaud said.
Meanwhile, Director of the GTA, Carla James-Vantull, has reinforced the importance of persons becoming vaccinated, and reassures stakeholders in the sector that the GTA is noting the continued challenges with operating during these trying times, and is available to provide whatever support they may need during this time.
“The GTA recognises the challenges that establishments have been facing since the implementation of these measures, and would like to commend those establishments that have taken the necessary steps to ensure that their businesses provide safe services,” James-Vantull said, adding that as safety measures are rolled out, it is important to provide the most up-to-date information and get feedback on how these systems are working.
“As such, we have created an outlet to receive feedback from owners and managers of these establishments through a WhatsApp group. Here they will be able to have their concerns heard and addressed in real-time. We are here to help, so we hope that businesses will continue to reach out to us. This pandemic is affecting everyone, so we are all in this together, and it is only together we will be able to make it through the end of the tunnel,” she said.
The two organisations further reminded that through these measures, supported by the Laws of Guyana, the Government has embarked on a more multifaceted, strategic approach to ensure that Guyana achieves herd immunity.
By reaching its 80% to 85% vaccination target, Guyana, and by extension its tourism and hospitality sectors, will be able to resume some amount of normalcy as it works towards a safe reopening and operations.
