11 new COVID-19 cases recorded

…active cases stand at 166

There have been five new cases of COVID-19 as at Wednesday, which increased the total recorded cases in Guyana to 350.
Five new cases were detected in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). The latest statistics show that the number of deaths remains at 19.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle had indicated earlier in the week that 42 cases of the coronavirus were detected for just last week. Alarmingly, a high number of cases were recorded in Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
To this, the senior health official had posited that the Public Health Ministry has been intensifying its efforts in the hinterland region. “Recognizing that our vast stretch of border leaves our residents in those bordering regions very vulnerable to imported cases, we also need to keep a watchful eye on our movement within and between our communities, and I am talking directly to those persons who knowingly have been close to positive persons.”
On Tuesday, she also shared that Region One has the highest Incidence Rate of 363 cases per 100,000. This was followed by Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) with 38; Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) with 276, and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) with 74.
This shows that even though Region One has an average population of 26,941 persons, the contraction rate is higher than in other population regions; like Four, which has 313,429 individuals residing there. As such, persons are 9.5 times more likely to be infected in Region One than in Region Four, and seven times more likely to get infected in Region Seven than in Four.
The regional hotspots are Moruca and Mabaruma in Region One; Aranka, Bartica and Sulphur Rose in Region Seven; Itabac and Mahdia in Region Eight; and Lethem in Region Nine. (G12)