Lethem COVID-19 patient nabbed in Brazil after fleeing quarantine facility
A view of the town of Lethem. In foreground is the Takutu Bridge which links the town with Brazil.
A view of the town of Lethem. In foreground is the Takutu Bridge which links the town with Brazil.

… Monkey Mountain, Paramakatoi residents worry following earlier visits by patient

A Guyanese man with Brazilian citizenship, who is the Rupununi’s first confirmed COVID-19 patient, wfled the isolation facility at the Lethem Regional Hospital compound on Tuesday morning.

The man, Hamlet Da Silva, lives in Brazil and he would make frequent trips across the border. The man discharged himself from the isolation facility during Monday night and crossed the border illegally. He was arrested in the town of BonFim on Tuesday morning by Brazil’s federal police.

Reports are that, although she displayed no symptoms, the man’s wife was tested by the authorities in BonFim on Tuesday morning as a precautionary measure.

The Guyana Chronicle understands that news of Da Silva’s case has created much worry in sections of Region Eight. Concerns in the villages of Monkey Mountain and Paramakatoi spiraled on Tuesday since the man travelled to those areas in a sick state a week ago to sell ‘tasso’ among other commodities. He was actively communicating with persons within the two villages, medical sources in the region noted.

Reports are that the man spent six days at Monkey Mountain and he informed residents that he had malaria.

The woman’s husband turned up at the Lethem hospital on Friday night complaining of feeling unwell. He was tested positive for malaria days earlier in Brazil.Reports are that the man may have contracted the virus from a Brazilian national who visited him a few weeks ago.That individual later tested positive for the virus. On Friday, when the man visited the Lethem hospital, he was not forthcoming about his history of travel. It was during questioning that the nurses found out that the man crossed the border illegally to seek treatment at Lethem.

Samples were taken from the man and sent to the city for analysis and on Monday, his test returned positive. The man’s behaviour has created much concern among staff of the hospital.

Guyana has recorded a total of 113 cases of the virus, 64 of which are active. Within the past 4 days, 16 cases have been recorded.

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