[5] On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.
[10][8] On 11 March 2020, the first case of coronavirus was recorded in Guyana from a 52-year-old woman with underlying health conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.
[3] On 18 March, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority closed the country's airports to incoming international passenger flights for 14 days.
[135] On 19 March, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) closed Guyanese airspace to all international arrivals.
[137] On 25 March, Karen Gordon-Boyle, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, announced that only people exhibiting signs of COVID-19 infection or who have traveled abroad will be tested.
[1] On 31 March, Ubraj Narine, the Mayor of Georgetown, said that he would not be implementing lockdowns or curfews in contrast to neighboring cities.
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) started a relief program consisting of food and cleaning essentials to the most vulnerable communities.
A 6-year-old girl was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex with serious medical conditions and had been scheduled to be transferred to Georgetown; however, she died within 90 minutes.
[150] Volda Lawrence, Public Health Minister, announced that there had been no new cases on 9 April and that a total of 152 people had been tested.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said that 10,000 to 12,000 people were stranded in New York alone, but that at the time no repatriation flights would take place.
[157] On 18 April, indigenous villages throughout the regions were concerned about food shortages due to significant increases costs, especially of freight, caused by the pandemic.
Up to that time the CDC had not delivered any aid packages due to a reconstruction of their long-term care program.
[160] On 21 April, Marvin Pearce, a Guyanese political activist and supporter of APNU+AFC, died on in the United States from COVID-19 at the age of 44.
The river which forms the border between the countries had been closed, which had resulted in food and fuel shortage in the Amerindian villages, Orealla and Siparuta.
[164] On 24 April, Moses Nagamootoo, Chairman of the COVID-19 task force, said that foreign aid had been halted by the irregularities surrounding the 2020 Guyanese general election.
[176] On 18 August 2020, seventeen were arrested for violating COVID-19 restrictions put in place by police at Montrose bar.
[177] It was announced on 19 August, that President Irfaan Ali would address the nation on the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic that night, amid a sharp rise of cases.
[178] The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that one other person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
[180] The International Court of Justice planned to discuss Guyana and Venezuela border dispute in March 2020.