2 more die, 99 new COVID-19 cases from 927 tests

Two more deaths from the coronavirus (COVID-19) were announced as of Saturday, moving the country’s death toll to 214.
The Health Ministry stated that two men, a 70-year-old from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and a 50 -year-old from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), died on Friday while receiving care at a medical facility.
On Thursday, two males – both 66 – from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) – had also succumbed while seeking medical attention at a designated facility.
Meanwhile, an alarming 99 new cases were reported on Saturday after 927 individuals were tested for the virus. This raised the confirmed cases to 9585, of which 4920 are males and 4665 are females.
Of the 882 active cases, 10 are in the specialised Intensive Care Unit with 52 in institutional isolation and 820 in home isolation. Another 15 persons are in institutional quarantine. The total recoveries stand at 8489 and 81,110 persons have been tested.

New cases
Spanning eight administration regions, two cases were detected in Region One (Barima-Waini); four in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 19 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 54 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); 11 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); seven in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); one in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and one in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
The cases in Regions Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) remain at 273 and 246 respectively.
This week, 425 new cases were recorded in the country. Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Friday acknowledged the increased cases, noting that it can be attributed to ramped-up testing. A majority of these positives were detected in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), which has over 400 active cases presently.
“The more you test, the more you will find and I think that’s one of the phenomena that we’re seeing…To date, while overall we have about 9600 cases, we have done 81,000 tests. We have increased the amount of testing and because we have increased the testing, we are able to detect more,” he was quoted as saying.
Within the next two weeks, another 50,000 Russian-developed Sputnik vaccines will reach Guyana’s shores. The country has indicated plans of purchasing 200,000 vaccines.
After 3000 doses were sent from the Barbadian Government, the Chinese and Indian Governments also sent 20,000 Sinopharm and 80,000 AstraZeneca vaccines, respectively. Another 100,000 is expected through the COVAX mechanism.
From the vaccines sent, Guyana’s immunisation network has already begun. As of Friday, a total of 15,524 persons were immunised using COVID-19 vaccines.
The Government’s vaccination programme targets frontline workers, health workers and the elderly mainly because they are considered to be the most at risk. (G12)