-CMO says men more affected by the disease

COMMON knowledge over the past few months has been that the elderly population is the most vulnerable to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), but an analysis of the local situation has found that young people are the most vulnerable.

“As we can see from the statistics, our males continue to be the ones most affected by COVID-19 and contrary to popular Guyanese belief, that COVID-19 is a virus that mainly affects the elderly, our statistics continue to show us that the young now constitute the most vulnerable,” Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud lamented during a virtual COVID-19 update, on Friday.

A clearly dissatisfied Dr. Persaud asked: “Where do we go from here? How do we deal with the challenges that are much more far reaching than we originally anticipated?”
As it is now, Guyana has 74 active cases of COVID-19, of which 72 persons are in institutional isolation and two persons are being treated in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

To date, 1,586 persons have been tested, with 1,436 of those persons testing negative for the disease and 150 testing positive. While there are still 74 active cases, 67 of the infected persons have recovered and eleven persons have died.

Health authorities continue to work towards strengthening the healthcare system to respond to COVID-19 on a long-term basis. The potential and existing activities are part of the plan to have a comprehensive COVID-19 health network, whereby patients across the country’s 10 administrative regions will be able to access these services.

Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) remains the epicentre of the disease, and there are a number of communities outside of Georgetown which have recorded cases.
Among communities on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) where cases have been recorded are: Atlantic Gardens, Friendship, Golden Grove, Good Hope, Lusignan, Plaisance, and Strathspey. Among communities on the East Bank Demerara (EBD) where there were cases are: Diamond, Grove, Land of Canaan, Providence, and Timehri.

Health authorities are also placing emphasis on hinterland regions, especially now that three of the four hinterland regions have recorded cases of COVID-19. The need for surveillance in those regions is also important because Guyana’s South American neighbour, Brazil, is now the epicentre for COVID-19 in the Region of the Americas.

In speaking about the situation in Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni)- two hinterland regions- Dr. Persaud said as of May 21, Moruca, which is located in Region One, had its first case on May 21, 2020, but has since recorded nine cases to date, with one death. Region Seven also went from one case on May 10, 2020 to 15 cases, to date.

“As I highlighted, Region One has six per cent and Region seven has 10 per cent of positively confirmed cases…In the breakdown by age group and sex, the younger males, among the 25-29 age group are predominantly affected in Region One while in Region Seven, it is the 30-39 age group,” said Dr. Persaud.

The CMO said health authorities are aware that young men, in Region Seven, go into the mines in order to provide for themselves and families, but it does not mean that it should be done at the detriment of those persons around them.
He encouraged those persons to practise social distancing, wear a mask and participate in sanitising and hand-washing, regularly.

“To those who are going home, you must look to the family that you are going home to and all the people you interact with on the way. Life is a treasure that we all need to appreciate, so don’t let us throw it away recklessly, let us collectively be considerate of each other.

“It is sad when you hear of the unnecessary pressures that persons who have recovered face; we stigmatize them; we shun them to the point of even scorning them and their loved ones. Imagine that the respect and honor that is due to a leader in your community, who would have served wholeheartedly, isn’t given the dignity that he so deserves,” Dr. Persaud said.

He assured that the public health ministry is not using these messages to bash men, but just using them as a means of sensitising and pleading with men to be more responsible and put the health of the nation, first.

COVID-19 remains a serious issue, not just here in Guyana, but globally as well. And, according to global statistics, there are over 5.5 million cases of COVID-19, with over 353,000 deaths. And with no approved treatment or cure, there is no assurance that persons will survive after contracting the disease.

In the absence of approved medications, governments and authorities across the world have employed a number of preventive measures to contain the spread of the disease.