Unvaccinated health workers who don’t report for work will not be paid

Unvaccinated healthcare workers who refuse to produce a negative PCR COVID-19 test and do not show up for work will not be paid, according to the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony.

The government is mandating that healthcare workers get vaccinated against the dreaded virus or present a negative PCR COVID-19 test at their own expense. The health workers are to present the test weekly and it must be done at an approved private medical facility which costs about $20,000.

“If you don’t do any of these things, you would be marked absent and you would not be paid,” Dr Anthony stated during his daily COVID-19 update on Friday.

According to the minister, the healthcare workers must lead by example and get vaccinated to protect themselves and others. The minister said if there is the more transmissible Delta Variant circulating in Guyana, there will be more infections and hospitalisations and even more deaths. He explained that the unvaccinated health workers are only putting themselves at risk.

“The only way you can protect yourselves apart from using PPEs is to be vaccinated,” Dr Anthony said.

He further explained that if the health workers do not report for work this would result in a reduction of health services being offered.

On Thursday, unvaccinated workers of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and the Linden Hospital Complex were prevented from entering the facility because they did not have a negative PCR COVID-19 test result.

Minister Anthony also said that the administration at the Linden and Georgetown hospitals are taking certain measures in place to continue offering health services. He said the ministry will closely examine what is happening with every shift and make decisions as is necessary.

The minister also told reporters on Thursday that a substantial portion of healthcare workers have taken their COVID-19 vaccines and only a minority remain unvaccinated.