14 new COVID-19 cases recorded

– active cases now at 361

The Ministry of Public Health on Sunday confirmed that Guyana has recorded 14 new novel coronavirus cases within the last 24 hours.
Of these new cases, seven are males and the other seven are females.
This was revealed in the Ministry’s updated COVID-19 dashboard. These increases have now brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in Guyana to 568.
However, of these, some 361 are active cases. This includes 357 cases in institutional isolation and the remaining four in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
There are now 47 persons in institutional quarantine.
Meanwhile, both the number of recovered cases and the number of COVID-related deaths have remained the same at 189 and 22, respectively.
To date, a total of 5280 persons have been tested for the novel coronavirus in Guyana.
With the majority of Guyana’s coronavirus cases recorded in its hinterland regions, the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has already indicated that additional doctors and other medical personnel would be deployed to those areas to assist with the outbreak that is rapidly spreading in those regions. In fact, only Friday a team was deployed to Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) – one of the hotspots.
The Ministry, under the leadership of newly-appointed Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, has also sent testing kits and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to assist with containing the virus.
Numerous reports over the past weeks have put the spotlight on Regions Nine, Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and One (Barima-Waini) for the upsurge in positive cases.
The border regions are heavily affected by the illegal movement of people into the country, infecting smaller communities in the hinterland where medical services are not as accessible as the coastland.
The Ministry’s approach to supply additional resources to these areas is expected to provide much-needed medical relief and care. Over the past months, health workers have complained about working in unsafe conditions where protective gears are lacking.
But in just one week since taking office, the new Administration has mobilised and received 46,000 rapid antibody test kits, Personal Protection Equipment, approximately 240,000 surgical masks, and face shields, gowns and other urgently needed supplies.
In addition, the Barbados Government has donated an additional 15,000 PCR test kits; while Guyana is also expected to receive another 10,000 PCR kits from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) in the coming days along with another commitment to supply an additional 40,000 PCR kits.
Only Saturday at his inauguration ceremony, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced that his Government is in the process of securing an initial $4.5 billion for COVID-19 emergency response at the household level in Guyana.
“Everything possible must be done to protect our people from this dreaded and dreadful disease. That is why, as President, I will personally and urgently participate in my Government’s programme to stop infection by the coronavirus, curb its spread, and safeguard the health of our nation,” he said.
The Head of State further revealed the creation of a COVID-19 Response Unit comprising Government policymakers, represented by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health, and our regional and international partners such as Caricom, PAHO, and UNDP.
The Unit will be guided by a collaborative policy to address medical responses and to create a COVID-19 impact socio-economic plan for the people.
He revealed that his Government has met with the Governor of the Central Bank and directed him to extend regulatory permission so as to allow for bankers to continue extending moratoriums.
“We have also looked at the possibility of adjusting the Reserve Requirement which will allow the banks to have more disposable resources and tying that adjustment with lower interest rate.”
He also said the Government started to examine from a fiscal perspective what support we can give to the Private Sector and other groups all with the view of supporting a resumption of the economic activities and putting people back to work.