Another elderly person dies from COVID-19

A 72-year-old man from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) is the latest COVID-19 death in Guyana, which now takes the death toll to 156.
According to the Health Ministry, the elderly man succumbed at a medical facility. He is recorded as the fifth death for December, which was reported just hours after the 155th death – a 79-year-old male from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
Also, on Monday, there were 23 new cases of COVID-19 recorded. The total confirmed positive cases recorded in Guyana is 5943 with 5077 patients making complete recoveries.
Meanwhile, as of Monday, there were eight persons in the Intensive Care Unit, 48 in institutional isolation, 657 in home isolation and 22 in institutional quarantine.
A breakdown showed that 16 new cases were detected in Region One (Barima-Waini), four in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), and three in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
There are still 182 cases in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 423 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 48 in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), 296 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), 183 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), 389 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 391 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Increased risk
Commenting on the latest coronavirus-related deaths, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony indicated that while, mostly, older persons are succumbing to the virus, there is a range of comorbidities that is also responsible for fatalities.
“When we examine the mortality profile, we’re seeing a lot of older people. The majority of persons that died are older and, of course, persons with comorbidities. So, we have had in our context, persons who are diabetics, with heart disease, kidney disease, other lung pathologies; persons whose immune systems have been suppressed, meaning persons with HIV and we had had a case of TB,” the Minister noted during Monday’s COVID-19 update.
Because these persons are at a higher risk of succumbing to the virus, the Minister said they are looking to immunise older persons and those with underlying conditions when the vaccine is available to Guyana.
“In coming up with our vaccine allocation protocol, we strongly believe that we should immunise older persons and of course, persons with the comorbidities, because they are at an increased risk.”
He cautioned persons with comorbidities to continue taking their respective medications or treatment to control their condition. Next, the preventative measures and guidelines to protect against the virus must be adhered to.
Dr Anthony warned, “If your diabetes is out of control, then it compounds the problem. So we want people with these underlying conditions to make sure they take their meds or whatever they’re using to ensure that their conditions are stabilised and controlled. That, at least, minimises the risk but what we have seen is that persons with comorbidities are at higher risk.”
He added, “You don’t have to be COVID-positive to isolate. You can prevent an infection by staying away from others and that is most appropriate at this point in time because this holiday season, everybody wants to do shopping. Those areas are crowded and you need to avoid that because you are at a higher risk.”
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 71 million, with some 1.6 million deaths. In the region of the Americas, there are over 30.4 million cases with almost 781,000. (G12)