– 53 new cases recorded
By Navendra Seoraj
GUYANA has lost yet another person to the dreaded novel coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the death toll to 48.
The latest victim was said to be an 84-year-old man from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), who died, on Sunday, while receiving care at a local health facility.
Authorities said the test sample was collected from the patient at the time of his admission, and later tested positive for COVID-19.
The Ministry of Health expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and promised to make every effort to provide all the necessary support, during this difficult time.
Officials of the ministry have already contacted all relatives and persons to facilitate contact tracing and rapid assistance to everyone who might have been exposed to the victim.
The ministry appealed to the public to respect the confidentiality of the deceased and his family and to allow them to mourn their tragic loss in peace.
Guyana has so far recorded 1,613 cases of COVID-19 with 53 of those cases being recorded in the past 24 hours. But 1,030 of those persons have since recovered while 48 persons have lost their lives. Of the remaining cases, 42 persons are in institutional isolation and 477 are in home isolation while 16 persons are being treated in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
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.
The 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 emergence of asymptomatic cases had prompted authorities to distribute more sample kits across the country, especially to regions where the infection rate is high. Most of the cases have so far been recorded in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
“We are sending out more kits, so there will be an increase in sample collection… the testing itself has components… one is sample collection and then there is the processing of samples,” Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said.
To this end, sample-taking sites have been established across the country, especially in ‘hotspot’ areas.
