
In addition to the closure of the Takutu River Bridge, which links Guyana with Brazil, the government has now suspended flights to and from Brazil.
Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said during Friday’s daily COVID-19 update that the suspension was part of ongoing efforts to guard against the spread of the new COVID-19 transmissible variant that has been recorded in Brazil.
“As we tighten the land border, we also want to ensure that, for the time being, we restrict flights arriving from Brazil to Guyana and vice versa; so now all flights are limited because we want to know more about the new variant before we can make other pronouncements, ”said the Health Minister.
The Minister explained that the authorities will evaluate the situation and decide when flights will be resumed.
Meanwhile, Guyana and Brazil will continue to allow for once-a-week freight passes between the two countries – an exercise that the Minister ensures is properly supervised by the health authorities on both sides.
“That’s going to continue where we’re going to allow that exchange of goods and services but we’re going to tighten the way we do that,” said the Minister .
Dr Anthony said there will also be more border patrol to stop people crossing illegally.
New variants of COVID-19 have also been identified in the UK and South Africa, with many countries imposing restrictions on arrival from both countries.
The BBC reported on Friday that these new variants were more infectious than the original one that started the pandemic.
There is some evidence that a now dominant variation in the UK could also be more lethal.