2 more COVID-19 deaths take toll to 376

…98 new cases, 24 in ICU

Two more deaths from the novel coronavirus have taken the country’s death toll to a startling 376. Of this total, 75 deaths have occurred in May – the deadliest month of the pandemic locally.
The fatalities are a 62-year-old female from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) who died at a medical facility; and a 52-year-old male from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) who succumbed at home.
Six deaths had been reported on Wednesday and seven on Tuesday.
The Health Ministry’s dashboard on Thursday showed 98 new cases. This means the total confirmed cases in the country have now increased to 16,654. There are 24 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 109 in institutional isolation, and 1922 in home isolation. Additionally, 10 persons were placed in institutional quarantine.
Some 14,223 of the 8268 males and 8386 females who tested positive for the coronavirus have since recovered. Guyana has tested 150,020 persons since the virus was first detected here.
An analysis of new cases shows two in Region One (Barima-Waini), 14 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 41 in Region Four, three in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), six in Region Six, three in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), five in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 24 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice)
In Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), the figures are constant at 456 and 368 respectively.
Meanwhile, during his COVID-19 update on Thursday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said that more than 1000 persons received vaccines at the second COVID-19 vaccination drive-through held at the Guyana National Stadium on Wednesday. He noted that despite heavy rainfall, persons turned up to receive their vaccines.
“We were encouraged by the response, and this is something that certainly the team would be reviewing, we probably will have more of these at the stadium. And we will also be working with the different regions to see whether there are possibilities to do similar things in the various regions,” he said.
He added that the public could expect to see similar exercises rolled out, as the Ministry continues its COVID-19 vaccination campaign. (G12)