GUYANA, last Sunday, recorded its highest ever daily number of new COVID-19 cases, when 44 new cases of the virus were logged, of which all of the cases are said to be from the country’s interior locations, which continue to remain the epicentre.
The country’s total number of cases has now increased to 474.

Of the 44 cases recorded 42 are said to be from the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region 9), while the other two are said to be from the Potaro-Siparuni (Region 8), at the border village of Itabac.

This brings the total number of cases in Region 9 to 93 cases, with the Region continuing to record successively high number of daily cases. Last Saturday the Region recorded 10 new cases, with three being from the Wowetta village; two from Aranaputa; and one each from Annai, Katuur, Baitoon, Potarinau, and Quarrie.

The Region’s Regional Health Officer, Naail Uthman, had noted just last Saturday that the Region “continues to ramp up its efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 by increasing testing and contact tracing. Several teams are engaged in this activity in the districts”.
Last Friday the Region had sent some 142 samples to the reference lab from different districts.

The country, in the early days of the pandemic, had grown accustomed to Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) being the epicentre for the disease, but this has since changed, and Regions Seven and Nine are now the “hotspots” for the disease.

Region Nine shares a wide border with Brazil, where COVID-19 is rampant. Globally, Brazil ranks second for the most cases of COVID-19 after the United States of America.

This latest number comes after the country recorded its twenty-first COVID-19 related death last Saturday, after it was discovered that 34-year-old Doodkumar Sookraj who passed away on July 30 had tested positive for the virus.

With the latest increase, the number of persons under institutional quarantine has now increased to 268 up from 225 on the previous day. The number of persons in COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) however remains at three; and the number of persons in institutional quarantine remains 38.

Overall, thus far 185 persons have recovered from the virus; and a total of 4893 persons have been tested to date for the virus, of which 4419 were negative.
Guyana, on Thursday, took a major leap in the fight against the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, with the commissioning of its new Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, at the site of the former Ocean View Hotel. This “leap” is expected to radically improve the quality of service and infrastructure for patients and staff, as the country continues to battle COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, which may arise in the future.

COVID-19 remains a serious issue not just here in Guyana, but globally as well, and according to global statistics, there are 16.8 million cases of COVID-19, with over 662,000 deaths. And, with no approved treatment or cure, there is no assurance that persons will survive after contracting the disease.