New lockdown rules in New Amsterdam; residents to be indoors by 7 pm

In light of a suspected COVID-19 case in the town of New Amsterdam, East Berbice Corentyne, Region 6, the Municipality on Sunday advised that non- essential businesses will be closed with immediate effect while others will have to be closed by 18:00hrs.

Residents of the town are also advised to be indoors by 19:00hrs while all bars, rum shops, beer gardens, fish shops, hangout spots and beauty parlours, barbershops were ordered to close immediately. The Mayor and Town Council made the announcement on their official Facebook page Sunday.

Further, the entire busy commercial hub in Pitt Street will be closed completely and sanitation of the area is slated to commence on Tuesday. The New Amsterdam Market will only be open until noon with vendors selling vegetables, fruits and meats allowed to ply their trade.

All clothing, cosmetics, jewellery or haberdashery stalls will be closed. The market will also be completely closed on Wednesdays and Sundays to facilitate sanitation.

Supermarkets and grocery shops which were previously advised to close at 18:00hrs will now have to shut their doors are at 16:30hrs and owners are asked to carefully monitor the intake of customers while exercising stringent sanitation measures.

Pharmacies will remain open until 18:00hrs while restaurants are only allowed to offer take away services.

Religious bodies have been directed to cease all services effective immediately. The monthly outreach for pensioners has also been cancelled.

These measures that have been put in place by the municipality are effective immediately, until further notice and will be enforced by the Town Council with assistance from the Guyana Police Force.

The Municipality of Rose Hall Town and Corriverton have also reduced the market hours and have commenced sanitation exercises. Vendors were also educated on preventative measures to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.

An elderly woman of New Amsterdam, Region 6, East Berbice Corentyne, who recently returned from the United States of America is suspected to have contracted the disease.

The 78-year-old woman has since been quarantined and four members of her household and three other persons have been isolated, the News Room understands.

The woman left Guyana on March 12 and returned on March 17 after which she fell ill. She was taken to a health facility in Region Six on Friday, March 27 and samples were taken and sent for testing at the National Reference Laboratory in Georgetown.

Authorities are awaiting the test results.