— as death toll climbs to 23

GUYANA has lost another precious life to the dreaded Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the death toll to 23.
The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the latest victim is 73-year-old, Wilfred James of Kuru Kururu.
James, who suffered from hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, had contracted the disease and was being treated in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
The elderly man did not recover despite the valiant efforts by doctors of the unit. He died while receiving treatment, on Sunday.
As seen in recent days, there has been a consistent increase in cases of the disease and deaths caused by the disease. Among the persons who died in recent times, are 74-year-old, Milton Paul; Geerjadai Jagnarine; and 76-year-old May Portsmouth, who died while receiving treatment at the GPHC.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people, who fall sick with COVID-19, will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment. There are, however, vulnerable groups such as persons with underlying conditions and elderly patients, who may develop the severe forms of the disease.
The Guyana Chronicle had earlier 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 GPHC. At the 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, co-morbidity 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. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that 81 per cent of the persons who contract COVID-19 will have mild symptoms, while 14 per cent will have severe symptoms, and another five per cent will need intensive care.
“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-19, 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 interview with Guyana Chronicle.

Among those who lost their lives to the deadly disease are, 25-year-old Lethem schoolteacher, Donna Ambrose-Greaves; 34-year-old Abdool Khan, a resident of Bartica, who was asthmatic; and local ‘drag-racer’, Deryck Jaisingh, called “Mad Dog”.
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 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. Forty-five-year-old, Lennox Williams, who also had underlying conditions, died because of COVID-19. And most recently, a diabetic patient, 67-year-old Samuel Morris, also lost his life.
It was last reported that Guyana has so far recorded 709 positive cases of the coronavirus. There are 337 active cases of the virus, while 349 persons have recovered from the ailment.