Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 20, 2014 News
Government yesterday lifted travel and visa restrictions on all West African territories, with the exception of four. The four territories still facing restrictions are Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mali.
The restrictions, which were instituted by the Governments of Guyana and other Caribbean territories, constituted a proactive tactic to prevent the entry of the Ebola virus.
The initial decision to put in place the restrictions occurred in early September but according to Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon, as of yesterday a revised restriction was implemented by Government.
The latter move came on the heels of a recent Caricom Heads of Government meeting in Trinidad where a decision was taken to review and revise the restrictions taking into consideration the state of the virus which surfaced in West Africa earlier this year.
Thousands of persons afflicted with the virus have since died and Governments across the globe have been putting measures in place to stave off the potential Ebola impact.
The meeting, which was convened by Trinidad’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, was attended by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud. There the Heads in attendance collaborated to prepare and present a 10-point plan which spoke to the need for regional collaboration and building of needful capacity; working to strengthen the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) with a view of ensuring that Ebola testing can, at the least, be coordinated there.
According to D. Luncheon yesterday, “Cabinet was updated on the events, practices and more importantly keeping in mind the recommendations from the international health organisations, WHO and PAHO (World Health Organisation/Pan American Health Organisation), Cabinet decided to ease its visa and travel restrictions on West African States.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, had explained that Guyana’s move to put in place restrictions entailed strict ongoing screening processes at all Ports of Entry for persons who might have travelled to a West African country 21 days prior or had been in contact with persons from sections of West Africa.
Such persons will be treated as “highly suspicious” for the Ebola virus until tests prove otherwise.
The four named countries will still face the foregoing restrictions.
In a statement posted on Facebook by the Minister, Government since early September discussed Guyana’s preparedness to deal with Ebola. She noted that “on September 9, 2014, all Embassies and Consulates abroad have been instructed by me not to issue visas to nationals from West African countries for the time being. The Embassies and Consulates have not issued any visas since then,” she added. This has since changed for the majority of the African States.
Rodrigues-Birkett had informed that while the restriction wasn’t designed to constitute a travel ban for persons from African countries (Africa has 54 countries), the measure implemented was aimed at dealing with the deadly Ebola virus which is seen as a challenge to both developed and developing countries alike.
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