COVID-19 claims 32 lives in March, with over 1500 cases recorded

– death toll climbs to 229, active cases now stand at 1032 ‘

With just two days before the end of the month, March has proven to be one of the deadliest months in Guyana since the novel coronavirus struck locally, with 32 reported deaths and over 1500 new cases.
On Monday, two new deaths were reported and raised the death toll to a whopping 229. The latest fatalities are two females: a 67-year-old from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and a 63-year-old from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). They died while receiving care at a medical facility.
At the beginning of March, the death toll was 197. However, the first death in March was a 54-year-old male from Region Four. Since then, the country has witnessed a spike in deaths and within the past week, 10 persons died from the life-threatening virus.
Mostly persons within a specific age range have been susceptible to the virus. As such, these persons are being asked to continue taking their respective medications or treatment to control their condition.
However, new statistics provided by the Health Ministry showed that 14 new cases were reported on Monday, thus taking the total confirmed cases to 10,182. These new cases emerged from 427 swab samples.
The Ministry stated that 14 patients remain in the designated Intensive Care Unit (ICU) along with 54 persons in institutional isolation, 966 in home isolation and 14 in institutional quarantine.
From the 5212 males and 4970 females that contracted the virus thus far, 8922 have completely recovered. Consequently, there are 1031 active cases remaining. Guyana has managed to test 88,562 people since the virus was detected locally.
A breakdown showed that new cases were recorded in Regions Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
Meanwhile, there are still 1028 cases in Region One (Barima-Waini), 253 in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 966 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 278 in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), 532 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), 246 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and 440 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
All Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures (No 15), which are in effect until March 31, 2021. This order emphasises the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving home; the importance of maintaining the six feet physical distance from others; and the need for good hand hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Symptoms of the coronavirus include fever, cough, tiredness, diarrhoea, pains, sore throat and loss of taste or smell. The more serious symptoms are difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, chest pain and loss of speech or movement.
If persons are experiencing symptoms or have been in contact with a positive person, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health.gov.gy.