31 new COVID-19 cases recorded in 24 hrs

– Region 4 is new hotspot

Guyana has recorded 31 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 24 hours, thus bringing the total number of persons who have contracted the virus to a whopping 1060.
Of the 1060 cases, 520 are males and 540 are females. The Health Ministry related that eight persons are in the designated Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with 387 in home isolation, 80 in institutional isolation, and 78 in institutional quarantine – a decrease of 23.
The coronavirus death toll remains at 31. Another 13 persons have recovered, which increased the total recoveries to 523.
Of the new cases, there are two from Region One (Barima-Waini); one from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 17 from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); one from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); three from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); five from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); three from Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and one from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
The number of cases in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) remains the same at 12 and 72, respectively. In just two days, Guyana has recorded a whopping 105 positive cases.
Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony had stated that 29 ventilators were expected to arrive in Guyana and would be distributed to regional hospitals across the country. These facilities will now have Intensive Care Units, specifically geared to the treatment of severely-ill persons who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are experiencing respiratory distress.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), once these units are in place at each of the regional hospitals, the burden which is usually placed on the Georgetown Public Hospital will be eliminated, allowing the facility to function effectively in its tertiary, specialised capacity.
With this service coming on stream, the necessary competent staff will be needed to operate the machines and care for the patients who are admitted.
“If we put the ventilators there, we want to ensure that – through the Georgetown hospital – we train the doctors who will be working in the ICU areas. That training is for them to understand how to do proper ventilation, when to put patients on this ventilator and how to use that piece of equipment,” Dr Anthony said.
Added to this, the Minister noted the importance of training for support staff to the ICUs, including nurses and other key health-care personnel.  He said Community Health Workers were also being trained in Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control.
“This is extremely important because if we are trying to prevent the spread of the infection within our institutions and also to protect our health-care workers from getting infected, these are going to be continuous and ongoing training [programmes].”
The training models being utilised to improve Guyana’s response to COVID-19 at the healthcare level was designed and approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO); however, the Health Ministry has extracted key components of the training, adopting it to fit the Guyana context which will render it more relatable and effective.