21 new COVID-19 cases recorded in 24 hours

…active cases now 417

Guyana has recorded another whopping 21 new novel coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country now up to 623.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Health in its updated COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday. Among the 21 new cases, seven are males and the remaining 14 are females.
Of 623 confirmed cases, some 417 are active. These include 412 cases in institutional isolation and the remaining five persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
The number of persons in institutional quarantine is still 49 – the same as Tuesday. The country’s death toll also remains at 22.
Meanwhile, two more persons have since recovered from the life-threatening disease, bringing the total number of recoveries up to 191.
To date, a total of 5462 persons have been tested for coronavirus in Guyana.
In recent weeks, the COVID-19 spotlight has been on the hinterland regions which has seen an upsurge in positive cases. These include Regions Nine, Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and One (Barima-Waini).
In fact, only Monday, authorities in Region Seven disclosed that positives have reached an alarming 135 cases.
According to the Regional Administration, 49 cases were recorded in Aranka, 23 in Devil’s Hole, 19 in Batavia, 15 in Bartica, nine in New Found Out, five from Melangree, four from Agatash, two in Big Hope and one in Riversview.
The spike in Region Seven circled the continued mining activities, which the previous coalition Administration had refused to remove from the list of essential services.
This was despite concerns from the various representative bodies and hinterland community leaders. However, it was eventually done but by the time it was done, there was a significant rise in cases.
The Administration is monitoring cases in the region and tracing cases to curtail further spread.
On the other hand, 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.
However, since taking office earlier this month, the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has already indicated that additional doctors and other medical personnel have been deployed to those areas to assist with the outbreak that is rapidly spreading in those regions.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud on Monday reminded the population to remain vigilant and get tested should they detect any symptoms.
“Guyanese, I urge to you to come forward and get tested if you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 or if you have been [in] contact with someone suspected of the disease. Further, persons who have concerns about their status regarding COVID-19 can make contact with our testing sites for an evaluation. Being tested means you know your status and gives you the ability to seek the necessary treatment and further prevent the spread of this detrimental disease,” Dr Shamdeo outlined.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the region of the Americas has recorded over 10.7 million cases, with more than 393,000 deaths.
Globally, the number of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 20.1 million, while the deaths are currently pegged at over 737,000. (G8)