…President says fight requires unprecedented expenditure,outlay of resources 

…call on Guyanese to support health workers

Guyana now has a total of 45 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, 5 more than the total provided by the authorities on Friday afternoon.

According to statistics presented by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), the total number of persons tested has climbed to 193, while 13 persons are in institutional quarantine;31 persons are in institutional quarantine. The MOPH said 8 persons have since recovered from the virus.

The number of deaths attributed to the virus remains at 6 and according to the ministry, 3 persons are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

President David Granger noted in a statement on Saturday afternoon that the fight against the coronavirus requires “unprecedented expenditure” and outlay of resources to enable identification and testing, isolation, protection and treatment.He said that the authorities are “becoming better prepared to provide proper personal protective equipment for the medical staff doing the testing and treatment tests and the materials and equipment such as beds, respirators and ventilators for those who become critically afflicted.”The President said too that the capacity for infrastructural and institutional accommodation is being expanded.

He also called on Guyanese to provide support to the country’s health care workers will practising the requisite health advice outlined by the authorities.

“The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pernicious killer which at present pervades the earth, affecting populations regardless of race, region, religion, or economic status. Guyana has not been spared. We have embarked on a path of public health but there is a difficult journey ahead before we defeat the disease,”the President said.

He said that persons who become ill should have access to the best care in the shortest possible time, to ensure their recovery and rehabilitation. The national focus, he noted, understandably, is on those who have been infected and afflicted.

Globally, there are over 1,760,000 confirmed cases of the pandemic with the United States leading all global figures with over 524,000 cases of the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University Interactive map .

With 19,48 deaths, Italy leads the global statistics followed by the United States (16,596), Spain (16,480) and France (13,832).