COVID vaccination important to ensuring businesses survive – GCCI President

Newly appointed President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker, is of the firm belief that the COVID-19 vaccinations play a crucial role in ensuring that Guyanese businesses survive the pandemic.

His comments come on the heels of numerous reports that some businesses countrywide have shown a complete disregard for the strict COVID-19 measures and regulations in place to curb the spread of the virus.

And with the pandemic putting a huge damper on business, the new GCCI head said that breaches are bound to occur.

“We are a middle-income country so people have to work, businesses have to open. I am not encouraging it but I know that there are going to be breaches but I hope that persons are adhering to the guidelines.

“We are at a place where people’s livelihoods are being threatened, I mean, it is a long time we have been in this mode and you are seeing people being frustrated now and people are at the point where they do not care,” Tucker told the News Room during an interview on Wednesday.

What needs to be done, Tucker opined, is for a well-structured plan to be laid out, which balances the reopening of the economy, while still ensuring the safety of citizens.

This he said, can be achieved with widespread vaccination.

“Vaccinations are key to achieving this,” the GCCI President said.

Already, the government’s immunisation campaign is in full swing with over 40,000 new doses expected to be administered by the week’s end.

COVID-19 cases in Guyana continue to climb with the death toll currently standing at 250 and 81 new cases reported on Wednesday as the country is hit with the latest surge attacking the younger, healthier population. (Shikema Dey)