Guyana-Suriname ferry service to resume tomorrow
– passengers must have a negative COVID-19 test result taken 72 hours before traveling
Moleson Creek, Corentyne ferry story
Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Public Works announced the resumption of the Guyana Moleson Creek, Corentyne and the Suriname, South Drain Ferry Service that will take effect from tomorrow.
In its statement, the Ministry said the ferry will leave Guyana at approximately 9:00 am and check-in sessions will take place between 6:30 am and 8:00 am tomorrow. The ship will return to Guyana by 1:00 pm.
The Ministry said the ferry service will operate every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday until further notice and due to serious health concerns, only Guyanese and Surinamese will be allowed to use the service.
Further, it was reported that diplomatic residents in Guyana and Suriname who need to use the ferry service will be facilitated upon request through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of both countries. The MV Canawaima ship is currently in Paramaribo that is doing maintenance so the MB Sandaka will be used to service the route.
In addition, it is mandatory that all passengers using the ferry service must produce a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (PCR) which must be taken within 72 hours of traveling. The statement stated that Guyanese can receive PCR testing at all approved medical institutions, the National Public Health Reference Laboratory and Eureka Medical Laboratories Incorporated, while Surinamese can have their tests at Suriname Public Hospital and the MeDiLab in Paramaribo.
“Passengers are also required to require all their travel documents to travel to Suriname before COVID-19,” the Ministry of Public Works also noted.
The Guyana-Suriname Ferry Service was closed since March last year when Guyana closed all ports of entry after recording its first COVID-19 case. Discussions between the PPP / C government and the Suriname government on reopening the borders and allowing the ferry service to resume have been ongoing since last August. In October, the Minister for Health, Dr. Frank Anthony has announced that the two countries will establish a team to work together on tackling the coronavirus novel. This team, Anthony said, would be responsible for seeing the synchronization and port health authorities from Guyana and Suriname exchange necessary information.
It was also announced last year that the ferry service would resume on December 12 but the resume was canceled after it was discovered that a caravan of over 100 Cuban nationals was trying to use the ferry service to come to Guyana and use it as a transportation point . to the United States of America.