COVID-19: Police closes pharmacies, leaves rum shop open during ‘sleep-walk’ lock-down enforcement

Commissioner of Police Leslie James

The Guyana Police Force seems to be sleep-walking into a strange decision it embarked on Saturday night to force customers out of pharmacies and order that the operations close their doors while leaving some rum shops open for business.

The move comes even as the Commissioner of Police Leslie James himself sits on the Coronavirus Virus taskforce representing a key agency, the Guyana Police Force. It is unclear who ordered the action of closure for the pharmacies which provide essential services.

It should be noted that the Minister of Health who was given certain powers by the president as heads of the lead agency fighting the coronavirus, has ordered a curfew from 19:00hrs until further notice. At this point is still unclear if the administration of the Guyana Police Force took any steps to properly inform divisional commanders and by extension junior ranks of the letter and spirit of the order which passed by the Minister of Public Health on Friday.

In the order which was issued on Friday, the Minister was pellucid that providers of essential services would be allowed to operate for 24 hours.

At least one rum shop located in the city where a former Deputy Commissioner of Police had an interest before he passed away, was left open as the police made their rounds to close the pharmacies which sparked outrage from proprietors and members of the public.