Number of COVID-19 cases rises in Grand Santi

The number of COVID-19 cases recently jumped to 21. Health officials from neighboring French Guiana confirmed that the number of COVID-19 has increased in the village that is located on the French side of the Marowijne River. Reports indicated that there were 21 reported cases on Monday. Officials expect that more people will test positive for COVID-19 in the coming days. Meanwhile more than 100 people have already been tested. There are strong indications that the novel coronavirus entered French Guiana at its southern border where Suriname, Brazil and French Guiana converge. Danielle Veira, director of the National Security Directorate, pointed out that precautionary measures were taken in the border region immediately after officials had received word of the infections in neighboring

French Guiana. Reports indicate that infected people also came into close contact with relatives and friends in Surinamese territory. “We are concerned about our tribal communities and we do not want anything to happen to them. If only one villager gets infected, all of us in Suriname get sick. Since Monday the security agencies have constantly been working on strategy for the Surinamese border region.

Three communities that are located within Grand Santi on the French side have been placed in controlled isolation. Eleven people from a village in Suriname have come into direct contact with an infected person of French Guiana,” said Veira who added that Surinamese officials are working on a strategy aimed at handling a potential infection in the Surinamese border region.