What does the Ministry of Public Health mean by forcible detention?

Dear Editor,

I read with great interest and concern a recent Kaieteur News article about the Ministry of Public Health’s efforts to track persons who had mingled with the family of the first person to test positive for the Coronavirus in Guyana (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2020/03/16/healthministry-tracks-hundreds-who-mingledwith-relatives-of-dead-coronavirus-victim/). In that article, Dr. Karen Boyle is quoted as saying that “as an extreme measure, the Ministry will employ methods to forcibly detain persons in the interest of public safety.”

I write to ask Dr. Boyle, Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence, and/or any other responsible party to please clarify exactly what is meant by this statement.

Will infected persons be jailed or held in confinement? Where? Will armed security personnel be placed at their homes? I would also like to know the specific provision of Guyanese law that allows this action. Finally - what measures will be put into place to ensure that no abuses of any kind take place - in the interest of public safety?

These are troubling times indeed and it is imperative that we all strive to remain calm and considerate of each other, as well as respectful of each other’s human rights and dignity. I acknowledge the Ministry’s efforts to address this virus thus far and I thank them in advance for their reply to my questions.

Yours faithfully,

Sherlina Nageer, MPH