THE Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has claimed the life of 45-year-old, Lennox Williams, who became the eighth person to succumb to the disease, in Guyana.
Williams, who was fighting for his life in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), lost the battle, on Friday afternoon.

Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, confirmed that the man died around 14:45hrs, on Friday, after being hospitalised for a while. “Mr. Williams was an ICU patient at GPHC and had suffered from other complications,” said the minister, in a press statement.
The Government of Guyana, the Ministry of Public Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) extended condolences to the family, relatives and friends of Williams.

Considering the local situation, Minister Lawrence said the ministry will continue to plead with all Guyanese to intensify efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 by practising social distancing, staying at home, wearing face masks and regularly and thoroughly washing hands.

Earlier in the day, on Friday, local health authorities had said five of the COVID-19 patients were being treated in the COVID-19 ICU. Health authorities had also said a total of 410 persons were tested so far for COVID-19, and the results showed that 337 persons were negative and 73 were positive. Twelve of the infected persons have so far recovered. As a containment measure, health authorities have placed 54 persons in institutional isolation and 17 persons in quarantine.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that the COVID-19 disease has proven to be a “real killer,” especially in cases involving persons who have co-morbidities. This was according to doctors of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
At that time, Guyana had recorded six deaths due to the COVID-19 disease and while the loss of life is never pleasant, doctors had said most of the persons, who died, had co-morbidities.

In medicine, comorbidity is defined as the presence of one or more additional conditions co-occurring with a primary condition; in the countable sense of the term, a comorbidity is each additional condition.

“Most of the people who passed, have [sic] co-morbidities…some had diabetes, hypertension, asthma and one of them even had severe pneumonia, which, without COVID, can also cause death…these, coupled with the complications related to COVID-19 can be dangerous,” said Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at GPHC, Dr. Genellys Camps, during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

Among the persons who lost their lives to the deadly disease was local Drag Racer, Deryck Jaisingh, called ‘Mad Dog.’ It was reported that Jaisingh was also being treated for malaria and reports are that he was diabetic. Guyana’s first COVID-19 victim, 52-year-old, Ratna Baboolall, was also hypertensive and a diabetic. Jermaine Ifill, an emergency medical technician (EMT), who had also succumbed to the dreaded COVID-19 disease, was also being treated for pneumonia.

Two other persons who died from the disease were OSA Collins, a 78-year-old resident of New Amsterdam; and 77-year-old, Colonel, John Percy Leon Lewis.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had said that 81 per cent of persons who contract COVID-19, will have mild symptoms while 14 per cent will have severe symptoms and five per cent will need intensive care.

The disease, however, remains a serious concern and so far government has extended its emergency measures to combat the dreaded coronavirus with the implementation of a 12-hour curfew on citizens. These emergency measures were made pursuant to the paragraphs (1) and (2) (b) of the Direction by the President, given under the Public Health Ordinance, Cap. 145, and published in the Gazette, Legal Supplement B, March 16, 2020, government said in a notice on Friday evening.

The measures took effect from the April 3, 2020 and will last for one month unless earlier terminated, extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Public Health, after an assessment of the prevailing public health conditions.