US-CDC warns Americans against travel to Guyana; Encourages full vaccination if travel is necessary

US-CDC warns Americans against travel to Guyana; Encourages full vaccination if travel is necessary

As Guyana continues to see increased cases of COVID-19 in every region of the country, the US Centre for Disease Control has issued a travel alert, warning citizens against traveling to Guyana.

The alert has placed Guyana on the highest level of concern for COVID spread on the CDC travel chart.

US Citizens are advised to avoid traveling to Guyana but the CDC said if persons must travel, they should ensure they are fully vaccinated before heading to Guyana.

According to the US CDC, because of the current situation in Guyana, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.

Last August, the US State Department also issued a travel warning about Guyana.

The latest warning from the US Authorities comes at a time when the US is getting set to roll out vaccination requirements for all international travelers arriving in the US.

While the US has not yet indicated which vaccines will be accepted, it recently instituted a vaccination policy for persons applying for permanent visas.

Under that policy, only WHO and US FDA-approved vaccines are being considered.

Guyana has been mostly administering the Sputnik vaccine which is still to receive approval by the World Health Organisation.

Several Guyanese students who are heading to the US to further their studies were told months ago that although they were vaccinated with Sputnik in Guyana, they will need to be revaccinated by a US-approved vaccine for on-campus studies.

The COVID-19 situation in Guyana remains worrisome as cases continue to rise. In the past 24hours, the Ministry of Health has confirmed five more deaths and 141 new cases.

In the past 20 days alone, Guyana has recorded over 4200 new COVID-19 cases and 113 deaths.

Regions Three and Four remain the COVID-19 hotspot regions.

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