Active COVID-19 cases now at 846

…33 new infections, 10 in ICU

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Guyana has gone up to 62,779 after 33 more persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus within a 24-hour period.
Consequently, the active cases in the country are now at 846, including 10 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining persons in isolation – 57 in institutional isolation and the other 779 in home isolation.
Additionally, five more persons are in institutional quarantine.
The Health Ministry did not report any fatalities during Wednesday’s COVID-19 update hence the country’s death toll from the pandemic remains at 1215.
To date, some 60,718 persons have recovered after being infected with the life-threatening virus – 12 more recoveries than the figure reported the previous day.
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Guyana, a total of 536,033 tests have been conducted countrywide; some 28,906 males and 33, 873 females were found to be positive.

New cases
Of the 33 cases recorded on Wednesday, three were from Region One (Barima-Waini); five from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); a whopping 16 cases from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); four cases each from Regions Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and one from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
There were no new cases detected in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice) within the 24-hour period.
While it is on the decline now, the surge in COVID-19 cases since late 2021 has been attributed to the Omicron variant, which though not as deadly as the Delta variant is highly transmissible.
As such, health authorities are urging persons to get vaccinated, and those who qualify, to get their booster shots, in order to add a layer of protection against the virus.
The latest figures show that so far, over 430,870 or 84 per cent of adults have taken a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and of that number, some 325,696 or 63.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.
For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, more than 33,400 or 45 per cent have received their first doses and some 24,050 or 33 per cent of them are fully immunised.
So far, in excess of 49,060 persons have returned for their booster shots.
However, 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 – which are more significant now with the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant.
During his most recent COVID-19 update, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony disclosed that anxiety linked to the virus among the Guyanese population has been lowered when comparing the levels at the beginning of the pandemic and at present.
“At the beginning when people were locked away because of the curfew and there was a lot of restriction on movement; at that point in time, people found it more challenging. Now that the society is more opened up, I don’t think people are so confined and some of the challenges or anxieties that people might have had in the early part of the pandemic have eased,” Dr Anthony stated, adding that better understanding of the virus has led to this as well.
However, the Health Minister outlined the need to still be vigilant and take all precautions.
Support for persons who are suffering from mental health issues owing to the pandemic, or long COVID post recovery, has been integrated into the health system’s response to the novel coronavirus.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) recent figures, some 426,624,859 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 5,899,578 deaths.
In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 145,824,798 while the death toll in the region has gone up to 2,607,258.
As it relates to vaccination against COVID-19, WHO also reported that a total of 10,407,359,583 doses have been administered worldwide. (G8)