ANOTHER family member of the 52-year-old woman who died from the Coronavirus last week has tested positive for the illness, bringing the total number of cases recorded in Guyana to five.

According to the Department of Public Information, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, confirmed the latest development.

Minister Lawrence, in a message, noted that the ministry, through the activated Health Emergency Operations Centre, continues to locate and quarantine other persons who came into close contact with the woman and her immediate relatives.

“To date, due to the diligence of our health personnel who are working assiduously to contain the spread of COVID-19, the numbers have been kept down,” the minister said.
She emphasised that while the COVID-19 situation in Guyana remains under control, it does not mean that preventative measures and other mechanisms must be forsaken.
“We can ill afford to become complacent and in some cases even nonchalant and laid back. The threat is real, it is not discriminatory and so we must all shoulder our responsibility resolutely and be resilient in adherence to the precautionary measures that have been established,” she said.

Guyana’s first imported coronavirus victim, her husband and at least one of her children travelled from New York to Guyana during the first week of March and according to the authorities, the woman presented herself to the public health system five days later with health complaints.

It was noted that based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, (with out-of-hand diabetes and high blood pressure), health professionals also diagnosed her for COVID-19.
It was noted that a sample was collected and sent to the National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) where laboratory tests confirmed a positive result on Wednesday morning.

The woman died last Wednesday while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and her family members were informed.

In recent days, the authorities have implemented several precautionary measures in light of the recorded cases here. These include the closure of the two international airports to flights except for those making technical stops, cargo, medivac and outgoing flights. In addition, permission would be given to special authorised flights.

The Ministry of Education also announced the closure of schools for sanitisation exercises for two weeks, while a shift system at workplaces for public servants has been implemented.

The Guyana Police Force has also decided not to issue permits for social gathering events including bar-b-ques, fairs and parties, among similar public events.