President David Granger convened a meeting of several government officials this morning to finalise the government’s action plan in wake of the first case of the coronavirus being confirmed in Guyana.

Though details of the meeting were not forthcoming, the Ministry of Education has since announced the closure of schools for two weeks, beginning on Monday. A number of private schools have also announced their closure for a similar period.

At the Cheddi Jagan Airport, the situation remains on high alert. This morning a Trinidadian man was blocked from boarding a Caribbean Airlines flight back home after it was discovered that he sat next to the woman who turned out to be Guyana’s first coronavirus case.

The man was told that he would be placed in quarantine for 14 days. He was held in a room at the airport’s port health facility and was expected to be transferred to one of the quarantine sites.

The woman who died at the Georgetown hospital arrived in Guyana last weekend on a Caribbean Airlines flight. The flight originated in Queens New York but she spent some time in Trinidad where she changed planes.

Her family members have been told to remain in self quarantine as fears remain about their exposure to the virus.

Meanwhile this afternoon, it was announced that the Guyana/Suriname ferry was suspending all operations in wake of Suriname’s first case of the coronavirus.

Suriname will also be closing its airspaces tonight and has banned all public gatherings of over 100 persons.

Guyana, Suriname, Brazil and Venezuela have all reported cases of the Coronavirus. Antigua became the latest CARICOM state reporting a case of the virus today.

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