27 new COVID-19 cases recorded

Guyana on Thursday recorded 27 new COVID-19 cases, thus taking the total number of positive cases to 3877.
The latest data was published in the Health Ministry’s dashboard, showing that the death toll remains at 117.
To date, 2042 males and 1835 females have tested positive – a significant difference in the gender breakdown.
There are 16 persons seeking treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Additionally, 70 persons are in institutional quarantine, 821 are on home isolation, and 43 are in institutional quarantine. This is a total of 950 active cases.
A breakdown shows that four new cases were recorded in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 21 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), one in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and one in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
The number of cases remain at 626 in Region One (Barima-Waini), 64 in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 25 in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), 127 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), 375 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and 131 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).
On Wednesday, the Health Ministry announced three COVID-19 fatalities. All three victims are males from Region One (Barima-Waini).
The most recent death is that of a 68-year-old male, who died on Wednesday while receiving care at a medical facility. The other two COVID-19 fatalities are 80-year-old Lionel Peters of Red Hill Settlement and 78-year-old Lewis Miller of Manawarin – both of whom died on Tuesday while receiving treatment at medical facilities.
In an update, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony noted that some regions are doing well, and this is reflected in the number of active cases and transmission rate.
“While the national average would be going up, when you disaggregate it by different regions, you would see that quite a few regions are doing very well,” the Minister said.
In regions One and Nine, which were considered hotspots for the virus a few months ago, there was a sudden rise in recent times. Dr Anthony said a health response team was sent in to deliver test kits and bolster the human resource capacity. More testing was done, thus revealing the positives.
He went on to say that most persons have been isolating in their own homes, following protocols.
“Once we know somebody is positive, we isolate that person. We have been able to isolate most of them in their own homes, and we have explained to the persons living with them what precautions they need to take. In some cases, we have been able to provide them with some amount of PPEs and other things that are necessary when you are in these types of environment. In addition, there is restriction in moving in and out of the community,” he said.
Dr Anthony had disclosed on Wednesday that steps are being taken to fast track testing in hinterland regions. He noted that Government has ordered 20,000 antigen tests, which are expected to arrive next month and will then be deployed to various interior areas. This type of testing, he explained, will be more practical for use in remote hinterland areas.
“This is not the RTPCR tests that we take samples of and bring them to the lab. This antigen test is one where, right at the site where you’re seeing the patient, if you suspect them to have COVID, you can run the test there and, within 45 minutes, get back the results,” the Minister was quoted as saying.