…135 active cases in isolation
Eight new COVID-19 cases were recorded as of Tuesday, which adds to the total figure of 308 positives. 
The Public Health Ministry would have released the new statistics via a dashboard, where it was noted that the number of deaths remain at 17. In 24 hours, some 49 samples were processed – of which eight showed positive results.
A regional breakdown shows that five of the cases were from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); and one from Regions One (Barima-Waini), Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) respectively.
To date, there are still 135 active cases in institutional isolation, 20 persons in institutional quarantine and another five patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit. Meanwhile, 156 of the infected cases have recovered.
The Ministry has so far conducted 3379 tests for the deadly virus, and 3071 have returned negative.
On Monday, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle informed that Region One became Guyana’s newest epicentre for the novel coronavirus disease. The data showed that over 90 positive cases were recorded in that region and a majority of them were discovered in recent weeks.
The first epicentre in Guyana was Georgetown, with several hotspots identified in high-traffic areas. Out of the 10 administrative regions, nine of them have detected positive cases – the latest being Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). For this, the DCMO heightened calls for communities within the region to exercise vigilance, since they remain vulnerable from the overwhelming situation in neighbouring Brazil.
The health official went on to say that whistleblowers are helping health authorities to identify any strangers, especially those from high-risk areas, who are attempting to enter their communities without documentation. This has been commended, since there are challenges in tracing activities throughout the hinterland areas.
“We need to appreciate their efforts; they are trying to mitigate the spread of the disease in the community. Please appreciate that the hinterland poses a unique challenge to contact tracing in that addresses rarely consist of a lot number and street and as such it is very difficult to locate someone who does not want to be found. Hence, we must work hand in hand with the hinterland communities, relying heavily on them to help identify cases, known contacts of cases and potential cases who may have entered the country not observing our mandatory quarantine rules,” Dr Gordon-Boyle was quoted as saying.
Presently, a complete lockdown remains for Moruca in Region One and Arangoy’s Landing in Region Seven. The national curfew and guidelines, however, will expire on July 16.
The National COVID-19 Task Force is yet to announce whether these measures will extend for an additional period of time. Since it was imposed in mid-March, officials were left with no option but to extend the curfew amid constant increases in positive cases.
Nevertheless, some leading businesses such as the Giftland and City Malls have instituted specialised openings after weeks of closure while others have remained shut. Throughout this time, hundreds of employees have also been laid off until the situation resumes to normalcy. (G12)
