The Health Ministry has confirmed on Thursday that 90 new cases of COVID-19 were registered from a total of 599 tests that were completed. This now brings the total number of cases to 7470 since the first case was detected in February 2020.
New statistics released by the Minister indicated that the death toll remains at 175, with the latest victim being a 65-year-old male from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), who succumbed on Wednesday while receiving care at a medical facility.
On Tuesday, Guyana recorded two deaths: a 74-year-old man from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) and a 58–year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony
The statistics also show that seven persons remain in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), while 44 are in institutional isolation, 710 are on home isolation, and 12 are in institutional quarantine.
The country has seen 6534 recoveries. Thus far, 45,957 persons were tested for the virus, with 3581 males and 3619 females reportedly testing positive.
A breakdown of the new cases shows that four were detected in Region One (Barima-Waini); one in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); seven in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); a whopping 66 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); eight in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and four in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
The total cases in Regions Five (Demerara-Mahaica), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) remain at 198, 609, 233 and 409 respectively.
Prisons
Meanwhile, prison inmates and prison officers across the various penitentiaries have been placed into isolation after testing positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) recently.
This was revealed on Thursday by Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, who stated that 33 cases were detected at the Timehri Prison; four prison officers and one inmate were tested positive at the New Amsterdam Prison; and there are also a few cases at the Lusignan Prison.
“We’ve had 33 prisoners who tested positive at Timehri, and those persons have also been put in a special area where they are isolated from the rest of the prison… We have the medical staff from the Prison Service who are monitoring them. Most of them are asymptomatic, so once they go through that 10-day period, they will be discharged from isolation,” the Minister informed during the coronavirus update.
Back in September, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn had announced that a total of 140 prisoners from the Lusignan Prison had tested positive for the coronavirus disease. They were kept in a separate section of the Holding Bay until recovery.
He had pointed out at that time that the prison fires at Camp Street and Lusignan within the period of five years have significantly limited capacity across the prisons and resulted in overcrowding. In fact, a visit showed that over 570 inmates were confined to a small space.
If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotlines 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately, or visit us at www.health.gov.gy
Persons with comorbidities have been asked to continue taking their respective medications or treatment to control their condition. The preventative measures and guidelines to protect against the virus must be adhered to, since this category of persons is at a greater risk if they contract COVID-19.
