OF the nine new cases of the Coronavirus recorded in Guyana over the past 24 hours, seven are from villages within the Rupununi, bringing to 18 the total number of cases having been recorded in Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo). 

Of the 18 cases, 13 are still active, while three recovered cases are expected to be released shortly from the Lethem isolation facility. A total of 55 persons are on home quarantine, while one person is in institutional quarantine.
The Region has already accounted for two of the 17 deaths the country has seen since the COVID-19 virus was first recorded in Guyana back in March. Region Nine recorded its first case in May.

According to reports, some 16 samples were brought from that Region to the city for analysis last Friday, and it is from those samples that the positive results were discovered. This brings to 125 the total number of persons from the Region to have been tested for COVID-19.
Of the seven new cases, three are said to have come from Aranaputa, in the North Rupununi, while the other four are from the village of Potarinau.
Regional Health Officer Dr. Nial Uthman is calling on the residents of the Region to continue to be vigilant and take the necessary precaution to guard against the virus.

“As the number of cases continue to climb, the health department continues to plead with the residents of Region 9 that COVID-19 is a deadly reality. The only hope we have of combating this virus is to follow the COVID-19 regulations,” Uthman said in a message.
He noted that the added burden of dealing with the disease has taken on the health system in that region.

“The health department is already overwhelmed with the monitoring of positive cases and case tracking of their contacts. We now have local transmission in the region and therefore all villages must be on high alert. We are all at risk,” he cautioned.

The total number of positive cases recorded in Guyana since March has climbed to 336, cases inclusive of 19 deaths. There are 154 persons in institutional isolation while 5 persons are in the COVID Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Of the 336 cases, 163 persons have since recovered.
A total of 3,685 persons have been tested so far in Guyana for the virus of which 3349 have tested negative.