— four new cases

TWO more persons who tested positive for the virus, COVID-19, have died, taking the total number of deaths locally to 164, according to the Ministry of Health. The latest deaths are a 53-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman, both from Region Five. The Ministry said they died while receiving care at a medical facility. Currently, however, this region has recorded 95 cases of COVID-19, the lowest number of recorded cases by region, locally. Additionally, Guyana has now recorded 6,293 cases of coronavirus after only four new cases were recorded from 152 new tests, according to the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 Dashboard for December 27.

The Ministry’s daily COVID-19 dashboard reflected that there are currently 459 active cases. Six of these active cases are being kept at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown; 13 are in institutional isolation; 430 are in home isolation and 10 are in institutional quarantine. All four of the new cases recorded were men, while they were distributed in Regions Four (three cases) and 10 (one case). So far, 5,680 infected persons have recovered. Many of the persons infected with the virus are said to be asymptomatic, that is, exhibiting no symptoms.

The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures (No. Nine) are in force from December 1, 2020 until December 31, 2020. They may be extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Health, after an assessment of the prevailing public health conditions of the pandemic. As per these current measures, however, all persons are required to wear face masks when leaving their homes. Physical distancing and adequate sanitisation are also important. The current curfew is 22:30 hours to 04:00 hours. Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166; 226-7480; or 180/181 for assistance.