– Region 4 continues to see spike in cases

ANOTHER person has died from COVID-19, taking Guyana’s overall death toll to 207, the Ministry of Health has announced.

The latest fatality is a 71-year-old male from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) who died while receiving care at a medical facility on Saturday. Meanwhile, over the past week, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases has increased by 314 with Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) accounting for 179, which represents 57 per cent of the newly confirmed cases.

On Saturday, Region Four accounted for 28 of the 52 newly confirmed cases; the remaining 24 cases were recorded in Regions One, Three, Five, Six, Seven, and 10.

Of the newly confirmed cases, Region Three recorded 12 new cases, while Regions One, Six, and 10 recorded one new case each. Region Five recorded an additional five new cases, while Region Seven recorded four new cases.

Twenty-four of the newly confirmed cases were males with the remaining 28 being females. It was reported that the 52 new cases were recorded from a total of 793 tests. The country has now recorded a total of 9,121 confirmed cases since the first COVID-19 case was reported in March 2020.
Following the recovery of 22 additional persons, the total number of persons who have recovered since March is now 8,287.

There are currently 636 active cases; 32 persons are in institutional isolation; 591 are in home isolation and eight are in institutional quarantine. Many of the persons infected with the virus are said to be asymptomatic, that is, they are not exhibiting symptoms.

Additionally, five persons are being kept at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

Since the first case was announced the government has implemented strategies to aid in the fight against the virus, this includes mass education exercises through collaboration with local DJ’s and radio personalities and even the implementation of the National COVID-19 Emergency measures.

The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force from March 1, 2021, until March 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 22:30 hours to 4:00 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.