THE Ministry of Health is paying special attention to New Amsterdam, in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), after it recorded a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases, which brought the number of persons in the region stricken with the virus to 366.

“Another area that is of concern, where we have seen a spike, is in New Amsterdam. Currently, we have 366 cases there, and, again, the health team in Region Six has been monitoring this, and, hopefully, we’ll soon see the cases start declining… We’ll also have to do contact tracing to the persons already diagnosed with the COVID-19,” Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony revealed during his daily COVID-19 update on Monday.
To date, the country has recorded some 6,931 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since its first case in March 2020; a total of 23 new cases have been recorded as of January 18, 2021. Sixteen of the newly confirmed cases ware females, while the remaining seven are males.

The 23 new cases were recorded in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), and Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice). Regions One and Ten each recorded one new case; Region Three, two; Region Four, 10; and Region Five, nine.

The 23 new cases were recorded from a total of 262 tests.
With the recent recovery of eight persons, the total number of recoveries from the deadly disease has since inched to 6,173. Currently, there are 33 persons in institutional isolation; 551 in home isolation, and another 19 are in institutional quarantine. Four persons are also being kept at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, on the lower East Coast.
Many of the persons infected with the virus are said to be asymptomatic; that is, they are not exhibiting symptoms associated with it. The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force from January 1, 2021, until January 31, 2021. 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 the 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 time is 22:30h to 04:00h. Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166; 226-7480; or 180/181 for assistance.