The Opposition APNU+AFC has lambasted the PPP Civic Government as “incompetent” in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the start of this year, Guyana has been seeing a rapid increase in new cases and deaths.

Between January 1 and May 7, the country recorded 159 deaths and 7,855.

The infection rate and the death toll recorded in the first four months of this year are more than the rates recorded in 2020.

Since the start of May, the country has seen 24 deaths and 920 new infections.

In a statement on Saturday, the Opposition said it is alarmed by the rapid spike in the number of COVID-19 related deaths and new infections.

Opposition Leader Joe Harmon said, “the spread of the coronavirus in Guyana has spiraled out of control and the PPP regime has demonstrated incompetence in effectively managing the spread”.

Just after the PPP took office in August 2020, the new Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony described the APNU+AFC government’s handling of the pandemic (between March and August 2020) as a “calamity”. At the time, the death toll was 20 and the number of infections was just over 400.

The Opposition, while calling for a lockdown in hotspot areas said it is deeply worried by the government’s “lax attitude towards the management of the spread of COVID-19”, noting that “since August 2nd, when the PPP assumed government the numbers of infected persons and deaths have skyrocketed without any indication of abating”.

Mr. Harmon said Guyanese have lost confidence in the PPP regime’s ability to manage the spread of COVID-19, pointing out that the measures to curb the spread are insufficient and enforcement of the existing measures is lopsided.

The Opposition has indicated to the Government, its readiness to be of support to the National Task Force on COVID-19. The Government has ignored the previous calls by the Opposition for it to be allowed to join the National Task Force.

When the APNU+AFC was in office, it had offered seats on the Task Force to the then PPP Opposition. The PPP never took up those seats, but instead formed its own parallel COVID-19 Committee.

“We also repeat our call and offer to the PPP to accept broad-based expertise in the management of the pandemic and to revamp the National Task Force to be more inclusive”, Harmon pleaded.

The Opposition has offered its sympathy to those who passed from the COVID-19 pandemic and is encouraging citizens to take extreme precautions in protecting themselves and families from the pandemic.

Guyana is still to confirm the presence of a COVID-19 variant here, although the Pan American Health Organisation believes one has been present in the past weeks.

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