68% of COVID-19 cases in Region 4

…Regions 1, 7 showing increased trends

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud on Friday provided statistics on the COVID-19 cases in Guyana, which shows that Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) accounts for a gigantic 68 per cent of cases.
During the daily update, it was shared that Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) are beginning to see an increased trend of positive cases with six and 10 per cent of positively confirmed cases respectively.
Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) also has high figures, accounting for eight per cent of cases.
The senior medical official revealed that the total number of cases remains at 150 with 11 deaths. Some 1586 persons were tested to which there were 1436 were negative. There were 67 recoveries, 72 active cases in institutional isolation, two patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 11 persons in institutional quarantine.

Threats in border communities
Dr Persaud expressed worry over the threats border regions are facing from the uncontrollable crisis in Brazil – a situation where thousands are infected every day.
“I wish to focus on our hinterland regions, particularly Regions One and Seven, where we are beginning to witness the emergence of more positive cases and more so to highlight the implications for our bordering communities as COVID-19 continues to spread across the provinces of neighbouring Brazil,” he opined.
One day after Moruca, Region One, had its first case, a second person tested positive. By the eight day, there were nine cases and one death. In Region Seven, six more cases were reported within the first week, three more after six days and 12 days after, another five cases.
He urged, “We know that in Region One, you young men have to go into the mines in order to provide for yourselves and families; this doesn’t mean that you do this to the detriment of those around you; if you practice social distancing, wear a mask and you participate in sanitiSing and washing your hands as often as you should then it is guaranteed that the possibility of transmission will drop significantly.”

Males affected
In the breakdown by age group and gender, the younger males in the 25-29 age group are predominantly affected in Region One while in Region Seven, it is the 30-39 age group.
“As we can see from the statistics, our males continue to be the ones most affected by COVID-19 and contrary to popular Guyanese belief, that COVID-19 is a virus that mainly affects the elderly, our statistics continue to show us that the young now constitute the most vulnerable. Where do we go from here? How do we deal with the challenges that are much more far-reaching than we originally anticipated?” the CMO expressed.
With many ignoring the guidelines instituted for their safety, he urged the public to take precautions. In the past weeks, men have been at the top of their radar.
“When we speak of the asymptomatic person we are referring to a healthy carrier that is actively spreading the disease without showing any signs or symptoms; this is the reason why we are asking to treat everyone as a healthy carrier and ensure that you follow the guidelines of physical distancing, hand washing and wearing a mask. It is important that you are not the only person wearing the mask, but you should insist that if you have to interact with someone else that the person is wearing a mask also,” the CMO highlighted.
Globally, there are 5,593,631 cases with 353,334 deaths. In the region of the Americas, the total number of cases is 2,556,479 cases with 148,412 deaths.