– three removed from ICU

GUYANA has lost 78 persons to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and while the loss of life is never pleasant, there has been a positive development in the fight, as health authorities have added 44 persons to the list of recoveries, meaning that those persons have recovered from the disease and were medically cleared.

The country has seen a stark increase in cases over the past few months, but 1,608 persons have already recovered from the disease.
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 the 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.

Health authorities have so far tested 13,836 persons, with 11,049 proving negative, and 2,787 positive. Some 15 of those cases were recorded within the past 24 hours.

There are 1,101 active cases which include 231 persons in institutional isolation, 861 in home isolation, and nine in the COVID-19 ICU. Prior to the Ministry of Health’s update on Monday, there were 12 persons in the ICU. The new update shows that three persons have been removed from the unit.
Authorities have said that cases are being detected because more tests are being done. Sample taking was also increased across the country because the authorities believed that many cases were going “under the radar.”
This suspicion had prompted the 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,” said Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony in a recent report.
The actual testing will be done centrally at the National Reference Laboratory, because regional facilities lack the capacity and technical skills needed to get it done. While the government hopes to improve capacity in those regions, the immediate need for sample-testing takes precedence, especially with the high number of asymptomatic cases.
Persons were encouraged to take extra precautions because there is no approved cure or specific treatment for the disease. Guyanese were also reminded to observe the protocols established in the COVID-19 emergency measures.