FOUR more persons have died after contracting COVID-19, taking Guyana’s overall death toll to 1,138 the Ministry of Health has reported.

The ministry said that the latest fatalities include three women: a 63-year-old woman from Region Three whose vaccination status is unknown and who died on January 22; an unvaccinated 52-year-old woman from Region Seven who died on January 24; and a 57-year-old unvaccinated woman who died on January 24.

The fourth person is a 32-year-old man from Region Nine who died on January 23. His vaccination status is unknown.

Additionally, there are currently 13,368 active COVID-19 cases in Guyana, following the addition of 173 new cases on January 24, 2021.

New cases were recorded in all ten administrative regions.

Region Four accounted for 118 of the new cases; Region One recorded two new cases; Region Two recorded 10; Region Three recorded 12; Region Five recorded five; Region Six recorded 13; Regions Seven and Eight recorded one new case each and Region 10 recorded 11 cases.

The country has now recorded a total of 57,400 confirmed cases since the first COVID-19 case was reported in March 2020.

Of the active cases, 20 persons are at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital, Liliendaal; 184 are in institutional isolation; 13,175 are in home isolation, and 14 are in institutional quarantine.

Many of the persons infected with the virus are said to be asymptomatic, that is, they are not exhibiting symptoms.

The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force 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, all persons are required to wear face masks when leaving their homes, and physical distancing and adequate sanitisation are recommended. The current curfew is 12:00hrs to 04:00hrs.

Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166; 226-7480; or 180/181 for assistance.