In light of a suspected COVID-19 case in the town of New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), the municipality on Sunday stated that non-essential businesses will be closed with immediate effect while others will have to be closed by 18:00h.
Residents of the town are also advised to be indoors by 19:00h while all bars, rum shops, beer gardens, fish shops, hangout spots, beauty parlours and barbershops were ordered to close immediately.
Further, all churches, mandirs and mosques and other religious groups are asked to cease hosting their respective services until further notice.
Supermarkets and grocery shop owners are advised to monitor the intake of customers and have to be closed by 16:30h.
Pitt Street, a commercial area in New Amsterdam, has been closed with immediate effect and sanitisation works will commence on Tuesday.
Moreover, pharmacies are to remain open until 6 pm. Markets will be closed at 12:00h (midday) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and will be closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Only persons selling essential products, such as green and yellow vegetables, fruits and meats will be allowed to vend in the market. Vendors selling non-essential items, such as clothing and shoes will not be permitted to do business.
To this end, the New Amsterdam Municipal Business Complex will be closed tomorrow for sanitisation works. With respect to pensioners, the monthly outreach at the New Amsterdam Post office on April 1 has been cancelled.
Failure to comply with the new guidelines will result in the Guyana Police Force being informed to take necessary action. In the meantime, the Mayor has advised residents to eat healthy foods, so as to build their immune system, and in so doing, fight the COVID-19.
Only Saturday last, the Linden Mayor and Town Council, in collaboration with a newly formed Regional Health Emergency Committee, imposed a mandatory curfew that will be implemented in all communities of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
