– active cases now 5899, death toll stands at 1070
COVID-19 cases in Guyana continue to be at an all-time high as another 657 new infections were detected within a 24-hour period.
This was reported by the Ministry of Health on Sunday, thus taking the total number of positive cases to 44,902. 
The 657 new cases recorded on Sunday have resulted in the country’s active cases increasing to 5899. This includes five patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining persons in isolation, that is, 107 in institutional isolation and the other 5787 in home isolation.
There are also nine persons currently in institutional quarantine.
However, the Ministry also reported that three more persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus have died.
These latest fatalities are a 74-year-old male from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and a 63-year-old female from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), both of whom were unvaccinated and died on Saturday.
The third person is an 84-year-old female also from the East Berbice-Corentyne region, who died on December 23, 2021. She was fully vaccinated.
According to the Ministry, this elderly woman died at her home last month. The other two persons died while receiving care at a medical facility.
Consequently, the total number of deaths from the pandemic in Guyana has gone up to 1070, while the COVID-19 death toll for the year thus far is 14.
On the other hand, some 37,933 persons have recovered from the life-threatening disease to date – a mere three more recoveries than the figure reported the previous day.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, approximately 447,863 persons have been tested so far and of this, some 20,987 males and 23,915 females were found to be positive.
Of the 657 new cases reported on Sunday, 13 were from Region One (Barima-Waini), 18 cases from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 89 from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), a whopping 345 cases from the Demerara-Mahaica region, another six from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), 67 cases from Region Six, 35 more from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), eight cases from Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), 43 from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and the remaining 33 cases from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
Health authorities have attributed the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks to the Omicron variant, which though not deadly is highly transmissible.
In fact, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Friday disclosed that the younger age groups, that is, 25 to 44 and 24 to 5, accounted for majority of the new COVID-19 infections that are being detected.
Against this backdrop, Dr Anthony has urged persons who have been infected to stay isolated in order to curb the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, persons are also encouraged to get vaccinated, and for those who are qualified to get their booster shots, in order to add a layer of protection against the virus. The Minister had reported that approximately 20 per cent of the adult population in Guyana are yet to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
Recent figures show that over 413,300 adult persons have received a first dose, while more than 298,900 of them are fully vaccinated with both doses.
With regards to the adolescent age group, that is, 12 to 17, over 30,800 have received a first dose and of that amount, in excess of 21,900 are fully immunised.
To date, more than 15,300 booster doses have been administered.
But as more people continue to get vaccinated, authorities are urging the public to continue observing all COVID-19 preventative measures, particularly masking in public, social distancing and frequent hand washing and sanitising.
The measures also include vaccination requirements to access any public building such as restaurants, places of worship, schools as well as Government buildings. There is also a midnight to 04:00h curfew in place.
