The curfew is back in Guyana to try to curb the spread of Covid-19 there. On leaving a ministerial crisis unit, the prefect Thierry Queffelec decided, Thursday, January 6, that the inhabitants of the six main cities of the territory – from Cayenne to Kourou, via Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni – should subject, from Friday, January 7, to a daily curfew from 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Restaurants, sports halls and cinemas, however, benefit from exemptions until 10:30 pm. Gatherings on public roads are also limited to ten people in these towns which bring together 76% of the population.
But this decision does not prevent the carnival, a real institution in Guyana, from starting on Saturday, with the traditional arrival of King Vaval, the king of the carnival. The prefect assured that the festivities, the most important of which are in Cayenne, Kourou and Saint-Laurent, would not be canceled like last year. Entry into the dance halls will nevertheless be subject to the health pass. Street parades are also maintained, but carnival groups must adhere to strict protocols.
Hospitals in white plan
Guyana was completely out of the previous curfew on November 29. The incidence rate there today peaks at 1,429 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and the positivity rate flirts with 42%. Vaccination, it stagnates at less than 40%.
At the end of December, Mr. Queffelec, had urgently asked the government to extend the state of health emergency which was to end on December 31 in the department. On Wednesday, the government had granted his request by granting him this extension of the state of health emergency which now runs until the end of March.
Hospitals have also gone into a white plan, following a decision Thursday by the Guyana Regional Health Agency, in the face of the increase in hospitalizations.
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