GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has said that access to its offices across the region will be restricted to people showing proof of being vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat said that the new policy went into effect as of October 1.

It said the measure is aimed at providing “a safe working environment for its staff, in keeping with attempts to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”

“These measures include proof of vaccination for staff members and all persons seeking to enter our offices to do business. Staff members and members of the public who are not vaccinated would require a PCR test no older than seven days to enter the offices,” the Secretariat said.

The statement by Caricom comes as several regional governments have either indicated a need to establish safe zones or restrict the entry to public buildings to only vaccinated people.

The governments have been calling on their nationals to get vaccinated as a means of curbing the spread of the virus.

Since the start of the pandemic last March, Caribbean countries have recorded 339,488 positive cases and 7,884 deaths.