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Guyana, Suriname working on health protocols before reopening river borders

Published:Saturday | December 5, 2020 | 1:52 PM
Passengers at the Moleson Creek border (contributed photo)

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Dec 5, CMC –Guyana is hoping that discussions on the coordination of the coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols would be finalised soon so as to facilitate the reopening of the border crossing at Moleson Creek with Suriname on the Corentyne River.

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said he has been in discussions with his Surinamese counterpart, Amar Ramadhin, in a bid to arrive at an agreement.

“We have been working with the Surinamese authority to ensure we can synchronise our guidelines and protocols for the reopening of the Moleson Creek port. We followed up with a number of other meetings between our technical groups, and we have been working on developing that,” Anthony said, adding that those guidelines needed more than the usual attention.

“As you know, our guidelines are fairly stringent. We require a PCR within 72 hours and then you will be allowed to go without quarantining, and if that PCR is beyond 72 hours but within seven days, then you will have to do a second PCR test on arrival in Guyana,” the health minister said, noting however that  Suriname’s COVID-19 protocols were slightly different.

“In addition to the PCR that they require to enter, they also require people to be in quarantine for 14 days. So, there is a little bit of difference people travelling over to Suriname would have to go into quarantine. So we are trying to synchronise and we are currently wrapping up those discussions.”

Anthony said once the protocols are finalised, discussions on when to reopen the crossing would begin.

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