No ‘Corona’ in Guyana- Health Minister wants police to probe mischief makers

Public Health Minister Vola Lawrence 

The Ministry of Public Health is advising citizens that it has detected no cases of or is in receipt of no reported cases the deadly coronavirus at any of its quarantine locations in Guyana and is calling on the persons responsible for spreading the rumors and seeking to cause public mischief and panic to desist.

“As Public Health Minister, I want to Go on record to deny that there are cases of the coronavirus in Guyana. We wish to ask the police to address persons who are seeking to incite and scare the population on such a very serious health issue” Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence told BIG Smith News Watch when contacted Saturday morning.

Permanent Secretary Paulette Adams who was also contacted on the matter said that she too is in no receipt of any information coming to her by any of the health administrators in the regions that cases of the coronavirus or anyone with symptoms have been detected, “not even in Georgetown as the report being circulated suggested”  A website on Saturday carried the headline “BREAKING NEWS: Guyana confirms seven coronavirus cases in Georgetown”

The report stated that the persons contracted the virus from a Chinese National who is still not showing signs of the virus, but those reports are unsubstantiated, the Permanent Secretary told BIG Smith News Watch.

Earlier this week, Regional Health Officials in Berbice were forced to call a press conference after claims that someone with the suspected virus was being monitored at Berbice hospital in Region 6.

The Ministry of Public Health is calling on the citizenry to be very responsible and not spread rumors and share to their social media platforms, reports on the coronavirus which they cannot for themselves substantiate since such actions do have the potential to cause widespread panic among the populace.

Guyana, a country with a population of just about 800,000 has been working with the Pan American Health Organisation, World Health Organisation and other relevant international, regional and domestic organizations and agencies to ensure that its citizenry is protected from the outbreak.