− 194 new infections detected
Nine more persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) have died within a 24-hour period, according to the Ministry of Health on Sunday.
These latest fatalities include five persons who died on Saturday, that is, 69- and 66-year-old males, two 62-year-old females – all from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and a 67-year-old male from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). The other four persons – 54- and 78-year-old females from Region Four along with a 42-year-old female and an 85-year-old male, both from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) – died on Sunday. 
According to the Ministry, these patients were admitted with COVID-19 like symptoms but died while receiving care at medical institutions across the country. Samples were taken at the time of their admission, which subsequently returned positive tests.
With these, the total number of deaths from the pandemic in Guyana has now gone up to 683. The COVID-19 death toll for the month of September has increased to 58.
Earlier on Sunday, the Guyana Police Force reported that a 16-year-old accident victim who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, died at the COVID hospital, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. That death, however, is not reflected in Sunday’s update.
However, new statistics provided by the Ministry showed that another 194 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in that 24-hour period.
The total number of confirmed cases in the country has gone up to 27,976. However, only 3137 of these are currently active cases. This includes 29 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining 3108 persons in isolation, that is 149 in institutional isolation and the other 2959 in home isolation.
Another 15 persons are also in institutional quarantine.
There were no new recoveries reported from the life-threatening virus as the figure on Sunday’s updated COVID-19 dashboard remained at 24,156.
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Guyana last year, some 287,779 persons have been tested, from which 13,410 males and 14,560 females have tested positive.
Of the 194 new cases recorded on Sunday, one was from Region One (Barima-Waini); five cases from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 42 from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); a whopping 109 cases from the Demerara-Mahaica region, 24 from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); two cases from the East Berbice-Corentyne region, seven more from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), and the remaining four cases from the Upper Demerara-Berbice region.
No new cases were recorded in Regions Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) in the last 24 hours.
In order to curb the rising number of cases in the country, the Guyana Government launched its COVID-19 vaccination exercise back in February and is aggressively rolling it out across the various regions in order to achieve herd immunity.
So far, more than 63 per cent of the adult population have received their first dose of the vaccine and over 33 per cent of persons 18 years and older are fully immunised.
Earlier this month, Government also begun the vaccination of children using the Pfizer jab and to date, in excess of 20 per cent of adolescents between the ages of 12 to 17 have been given their first shot.
Persons are encouraged to get immunised since the COVID-19 vaccine gives full protection against death. In fact, Health authorities have disclosed that no one who is fully vaccinated with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccines has been hospitalised or died from the virus.
Nevertheless, 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.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of Sunday, some 223,022,538 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 4,602,882 deaths.
The WHO also reported on Sunday that in the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 85,969,448 while the death toll in the region has gone up to 2,136,263.
