47-year-old woman is Guyana’s 31st COVID-19 fatality

There has been another death as a result of COVID-19: a 47-year-old woman succumbed on Friday evening while medial seeking treatment.
The Health Ministry made the announcement shortly after the woman died at 18:00h. According to the Ministry, the woman had tested positive and was being treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).
The Ministry, which did not state in which community or region the woman had lived, has said that it is in contact with the woman’s family and relatives to facilitate contact tracing and rapid assistance to everyone who may have been exposed.
“The Health Ministry expresses sincerest condolences to the family of the deceased, and will make every effort to provide all the necessary support during this difficult time to assist the families to deal with the situation,” the statement from the Ministry read.
This announcement comes one day after the 30th death was recorded on Thursday evening – another patient at the GPHC. A posthumous test on the 73-year-old man confirmed that he had been positive for the coronavirus.
Alarmingly, on Wednesday, the Ministry reported four deaths. The first victim was a 43-year-old woman who had been a patient at the transitional ward of the GPHC.
This was followed by the death of a 72-year-old man, who died in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after receiving medical care for five days. His demise was followed by the deaths of the country’s 28th and 29th victims – who died at the Bartica Hospital in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) at about 18:00h, also on Wednesday. The patients who died at the hospital were a male and a female, aged 55 and 41 respectively.
Then, on Tuesday, two other persons who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus died at the Georgetown facility. The patients who died in the ICU of the GPHC were both males, aged 93 and 87.
There was a third death on that same day, a 32-year-old man who succumbed while receiving care at Bartica Hospital. The patient had been resident at Region One (Barima-Waini) but, at the time of his hospitalisation, had been working in the mining community in the Cuyuni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). The man had been rushed to the hospital under suspicion of being infected with malaria, but had later been swabbed because of his previous contact with other possible cases at his work site.
In light of another death this week, the Ministry urged members of the public to observe the COVID-19 emergency measures published in the Official Gazette on August 14. Those persons with symptoms associated with the virus should call all the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166, 226-7480 or 180/181 for guidance. (G12)