Carnival canceled, curfew extended: the prefecture of Guyana announced on Tuesday the strengthening of measures to fight against the Covid-19 epidemic as the end of the year holidays approach.
A particularly awaited announcement, the carnival of Guyana will not take place in 2021. The festivities, which last several weeks between January and February, take place in the dancings and in the streets, and the evenings, which attract thousands of festival-goers, take place end in the early morning.
"We
will have to think about another temporality
”, Declared Paul-Marie Claudon, secretary general of the services of the State, the department having for the moment not titular prefect.
From December 18 in the evening and until January 4, a curfew will be applied from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. in five municipalities in Guyana: Cayenne, as well as Matoury, Rémire-Montjoly, Macouria and Kourou, i.e. a population of approximately 158,000 people, he added.
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Since October, these municipalities were already subject to a curfew running from midnight to 5 a.m.
"
These are the areas where the virus circulates the most
", explained Mr. Claudon.
Eight municipalities maintain a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. and nine are not affected by the curfew.
These measures will be repealed for the evening of December 24 throughout the territory.
On the other hand, they will be reinforced on December 31 in the 22 municipalities of Guyana, none escaping the curfew that night from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The prefecture has provided exemptions for restaurateurs.
These establishments will be able to remain open during the curfew until 10:30 p.m., the bills will serve as proof for customers who would be checked by the police after 9 p.m.
"
These exemptions will not be valid for bars or trailers, specified the secretary general, only for seated catering
".
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For two weeks, Guyana has experienced an upsurge in cases.
An increase "
slower than during the first wave,
" explained Cyril Rousseau, head of the Public Health France unit at the ARS.
The department exceeded the alert threshold with a positivity rate of more than 10%, he continued.
As of December 15, Guyana has 15,906 confirmed cases, 14 hospitalized patients and two in intensive care, and 71 deaths.
Gatherings of more than six people on the public highway will also be prohibited, except by dispensation from the prefect, this measure mainly concerns sports activities and cultural events which gradually resumed.
