Health Ministry rejects claims of them singling out Palm Court for breaching COVID-19 measures

The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday refuted claims made by the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer, which stated that they were singling out the Palm Court Bar and Restaurant for breaching the National COVID-19 measures.
The popular nightspot was served with a final warning letter by the Director of the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF), Nazrul Hussain on Thursday, which stated that they were blatantly disregarding the COVID-19 measures. It was not specified in the letter what exact breaches were made but it was noted that the operators were previously served with a letter on October 30.
Hussain in his letter threatened to revoke the establishment’s licence if they were found breaching the measures once more, adding that their privileges can also be suspended.
Kaieteur News understands that the establishment has denied these breaches.

In light of this, Deygoo-Boyer in a statement condemned the actions of the NCTF, urging them to withdraw the warning letter. “The Task Force must be aware, as it is public knowledge that hundreds of businesses operate in a similar manner to that of Palm Court. Hence, this action would appear to be biased and discriminatory and the letter should be withdrawn forthwith,” Boyer said.
He called on the head of the task force to give a reason for their actions, adding that the PSC was considering removing itself from the task force.
Boyer contended that Palm Court is one of the oldest and “most internationally recognized” restaurants in Guyana, but the task force decided to discredit that. He also claimed that the letter was leaked to the media before even being issued to the establishment.
The Health Ministry in a statement yesterday defended their issuance of the letter, maintaining that they would have sent a first letter of warning to 42 businesses and of that number, 20 received final warnings due to continued breaches.

Further, they adamantly denied involvement in any leakage of warning letters to the media.
“The PSC plays a vital role as part of the Task Force and the Ministry believes that the matter concerning the Palm Court Restaurant and Bar could be resolved mutually and collaboratively as done by other businesses that were written to,” the Ministry stated.
Both the MOH and the NCTF urged the PSC to not decide on withdrawing from the Task Force, lamenting that the Government purposely chose an inclusive approach in the composition of the NCTF and Guyana’s COVID-19 response.

Prime Minister, Mark Phillips, had announced last month that the government will take a firm stance against businesses breaching the COVID-19 measures. He had expressed that upon discovery of a breach, a first warning will be given to business owners who fail to comply and upon the second warning, their businesses can and will be shut down.
Currently, the Official Gazette of COVID-19 measures for the month of November strictly outlines that bars and rum shops are not permitted for opening and indoor dining, and social gatherings are prohibited as well.