— 103 new cases recorded in 1 day
Three more persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) died on Saturday, taking the total number of deaths from the pandemic in Guyana to 284. 
These latest fatalities are a 55-year-old female from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and two men, a 72-year-old and a 42-year-old, both from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
They all died while receiving care at medical facilities.
On Saturday, the Ministry had reported that two other males died on that day – a 72-year-old and a 42-year-old, both from Region Four as well.
Prior to this, a 60-year-old woman from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and a 65-year-old woman from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) had died on Friday.
Nevertheless, with the additional three fatalities on Saturday, the death toll for the month of April has gone up to 51 – the deadliest month since the first case was detected in March 2020.
Meanwhile, some 103 new COVID-19 cases were detected from 1344 tests conducted during a 24-hour period throughout Guyana.
According to the updated COVID-19 dashboard on Sunday, the total number of confirmed cases in Guyana is now 12,703.
However, only 1633 of these are currently active cases. These include 12 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining 1621 persons in isolation, that is, 73 persons in institutional isolation and the other 1548 persons in home isolation.
There are also another 10 persons in institutional quarantine.
Further, the number of persons who have recovered from the life-threatening disease in the country to date has increased to 10,786 – some 84 more recoveries than the figure reported the previous day.
A total of 117,390 persons have been tested for the novel coronavirus thus far in Guyana, and from that some 6419 males and 6284 females were positive.
Of the 103 new cases recorded on Sunday, one was detected in Region One (Barima-Waini); 23 in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 13 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), a whopping 49 cases in the Demerara-Mahaica region; seven in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), six in the East Berbice-Corentyne region, three in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and one case in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
The figures remained the same in Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
The rising number of COVID-19 cases and death toll comes as local authorities continue to battle with a new wave of the novel coronavirus that is seeing a higher number of young people contracting the virus, and infected persons becoming sicker with some requiring hospitalisation.
As such, health authorities are reminding all Guyanese to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures (No 16), which was extended for this month and will be in effect until April 30, 2021.
Among these measures is the 22:30h (10:30 pm) to 04:00h (4 am) national curfew, which the National COVID-19 Taskforce recently reminded remains intact and cautioned that those who fail to adhere to the guidelines will be prosecuted.
It also reinforced that only essential services are authorised to operate on a 24-hour basis and that other services and businesses are required to close operations by 21:30h (9:30 pm) in order to facilitate workers getting home by the curfew time.
Restaurants and places of worship have been given approval to operate at 40 per cent capacity. Gyms are to operate at 50 per cent capacity while sporting events are only permitted with approval from the Health Minister.
The order further 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.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of Sunday, some 146,054,107 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 3,092,410 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 60,950,456 while the death toll in the region has gone up to 1,481,263.
