Question 30225 — overseas

Summary

Mr. Lénaïck Adam questions the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs on the closure of the Franco-Brazilian border in a health crisis situation. On March 19, 2020, the prefect of Guyana announced the closure of the borders with Suriname and Brazil. If the border with Suriname is effectively closed and monitored over 540 kilometers of river, that of Brazil is still not. Indeed, if the passages by the river are closely monitored, the bridge linking the communes of Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock to Oiapoque is open three days a week, in both directions, thus allowing people from Brazil to enter Guyana. Moreover, article 11 of the prefectural decree of June 2, 2020 specifies that, except in the case of exceptions set restrictively by regulatory act, the opening of the Saint-Georges land border crossing point would be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. This is surprising for a so-called “closed” border area. To this astonishment which raises questions, the prefect responds that the people returning to Guyana are of French or Brazilian nationality in a legal situation. There is reason to question whether there is a real difference between the previous situation, before the decision to close the border is taken and the current situation. Was it not exclusively people in a regular situation who were already crossing the bridge before the period of health crisis? It is also surprising that so many people, sometimes more than ten at each visit, fall under the exceptions provided for by the provisions of the prefectural decree. There are also, according to information from the MP, Brazilian patients, suffering from chronic infections, residing in Oiapoque, who continue to cross the bridge to go to consultations at the health center. These patients then return to Brazil without there being the slightest control over their comings and goings when they are on the French territory of Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock. All people crossing the border, and presenting symptoms, have, since May 22, 2020, and only since that date, subjected to screening tests. These people had until now been invited to stay in the city's college, roughly converted into a reception center while awaiting the results. This solution, however, presented a significant potential danger since people, ultimately negative, were authorized to continue their route towards Cayenne or Kourou, or even France, even though they had been in contact with people recognized as positive. Since May 29, 2020, and only since this date, all people, symptomatic or not, have been tested, which has led to the strengthening of the medical system on deck. This point is also subject to questions because, it should be remembered, the border was closed on March 19, 2020. These more restrictive measures were taken after asymptomatic people having crossed the border to go to Guyana were finally recognized as positive. All these people are sent to the college, and are physically separated depending on whether or not they present symptoms. This management, which is intended to be medicalized, does not however put an end to cohabitation, just like the previous protocol, between people ultimately recognized as positive and those recognized as negative, authorized to continue their journey in Guyana or towards France. It is also curious to note that the tests are now presented as a guarantee of health security upon entry into Guyanese territory, for people coming, it should be remembered, from a state where the virus is circulating and the cause of six deaths, according to the official count in the border town of Oiapoque as of June 2, 2020. The director general of the ARS of Guyana declared recently that systematic screening of passengers coming from France was not a solution given the significant risk of false negatives. Unlike the arrangements made with Suriname, the border with Brazil is not closed, since people and goods continue to cross it on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Customs has even had to postpone freight passage times in order to streamline traffic on the bridge. The measures put in place do not appear, according to the MP, likely to slow down, but on the contrary to encourage the spread of the virus throughout the rest of Guyanese territory. Several clusters, now active in Kourou and on the island of Cayenne, are directly linked to this uncontrolled border post. The Brazilian community in Guyana is therefore strongly affected, even in the west, in Mana and Saint-Laurent du Maroni. THE Residents of the west are therefore particularly worried because the previous clusters, including the first in Guyana, had all been brought under control and the situation seems to be becoming difficult to control again. Finally, the other paradox is to ask the inhabitants of Saint-Georges to confine themselves even though the authorities leave the border open as specified above. The population does not understand. By these observations, the idea is not not to stigmatize but to highlight facts which will harm the Guyanese population as a whole by accelerating the circulation of the virus. Based on this observation, he asks what measures the Government intends to take to truly control the border and more firmly regulate the spread of the virus by infected people; urgency commands because the now active clusters raise fears of a large epidemic magnitude in Guyana.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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