Task Force considering fully vaccinated mandate to enter Guyana, access public buildings

The National COVID-19 Task Force is considering implementing a fully vaccinated mandate for citizens here and persons entering Guyana.

Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony said countries around the world are implementing the fully vaccinated mandate.

In Guyana, persons are only required to take one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to be able to enter the country and access all public buildings but this can all change when the new gazetted COVID-19 guidelines are released at the end of October.

“We will see when those [gazetted] orders come out whether those changes have been made,” Minister Anthony said during his daily COVID-19 update on Thursday.

He added, “our definition of vaccinated was that if you got at least one of your vaccines…the Task Force is currently examining whether or not to implement fully vaccinated,” Minister Anthony stated.

A person is only considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they take their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition to the vaccination requirement, travellers must also take a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) COVID-19 test within 72 hours before they are allowed entry into Guyana. Persons here are also required to present their COVID-19 vaccination cards for entry into public and private buildings; a negative PCR test can also be used and must be taken within seven days of entering the building.

In September, the government announced that adults are required to be vaccinated to access public buildings and some private buildings that members of the public have lawful access to, including learning institutions.

The updates measures state that “public buildings” means any building to which the public has lawful access to and shall include both publicly and privately owned buildings including all institutions of learning.

The News Room understands that this includes places of worship, supermarkets, stores, banks and other commercial places.

For unvaccinated people seeking to enter these buildings, an appointment must be made and those people must produce a negative result from a PCR COVID-19 test taken within seven days of the appointment.

These PCR tests must be done at a private facility approved by the Ministry of Health. This test costs about $20,000.