FOUR young children are currently being treated and monitored after they tested positive for COVID-19, and began displaying the more severe symptoms associated with the disease, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony has revealed.
Speaking during his daily COVID-19 update on Friday, Dr. Anthony highlighted that since the arrival of virus in Guyana, a total of 1,567 children, aged zero to 14 are among the more than 20,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed by the ministry. This number represents almost eight per cent of the total number of infections.
It was not clear how many children above the age of 14 have tested positive for the deadly virus.
While children do become infected with COVID-19, the minister detailed that in most cases, the virus would be detected accidentally, as children tend to display more mild symptoms of the virus.

“In very exceptional cases, you might have some complications of those infections,” he added.
Giving a breakdown of the infection numbers, Minister Anthony stated that in children aged zero to four years old, 287 positive cases comprising 148 boys and 139 girls have been recorded; 524 positive cases comprising 273 boys and 251 girls for the age five to nine category, and 756 cases, including 342 boys and 414 girls in the 10 to 14 category have tested positive.
“While most of the cases so far that we have seen have really been mild, over the last two weeks or so, we have seen a disturbing trend, and right now, in our hospitals, we have four children who have been severely affected by COVID,” Dr. Anthony revealed.
He added that the children currently in the ICU are being monitored by healthcare professionals, and that those persons are working to ensure that the children admitted for COVID-19 receive the best care that can be provided.

“So I think it’s important that we take the necessary precautions, especially with our children, to make sure that they are protected, that they wear masks when it’s necessary, when they’re going out, because this virus, as we can see, can affect children. And I don’t think a lot of people have paid attention to that,” he reminded.
He urged persons to be more mindful, especially now, of maintaining protective measures, since children have moved from contracting mild cases of the virus to exhibiting more severe symptoms of it. Additionally, the minister advised that there have been complications when children get infected with COVID-19, including Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), an inflammatory disease in which different body parts become inflamed and fail, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, and gastrointestinal organs.
While he noted that Guyana has not grappled with this condition thus far, he reiterated the importance of ensuring COVID-19 safety measures such as wearing a mask, social distancing and frequent sanitisation, are adhered to.
Three of the children are currently being treated at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Georgetown, and the fourth child will be admitted shortly.