Guyana records 13th COVID-19 death

…cases climb to 248

A 42-year-old man has succumbed to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), bringing the country’s death toll up to 13.
This latest fatality was announced on Wednesday, but the man died on Monday.
While no other details of the now-deceased man were given, the media was told that he died on Monday at the Georgetown Public Hospital. It has been reported that the 42-year-old man was admitted to the hospital’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit after complaining of shortness of breath.
Guyana’s last COVID-19 death was recorded over a month ago on May 30 when 78-year-old John Damon, a former resident of the Palms Geriatric Home, died at the dedicated COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) located at the Georgetown Public Hospital. He was the second resident of The Palms to die from COVID-19.
It has been almost four months since Guyana recorded its first coronavirus case following the death of 52-year-old Ratna Baboolall, who is referred to as ‘patient zero’.
While the country has maintained a low death rate, over the past week, there has been a significant raise in the number of cases. In fact, there were 46 new cases recorded last week alone.
On Wednesday, the Public Health Ministry reported another three new cases from 56 tests conducted within the previous 24 hours. This now brings the total of COVID-19 cases in Guyana to 248.
According to Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle, who delivered Wednesday’s update, a total of 2634 persons have been tested to date for the novel coronavirus of which 2386 were negative.
Guyana currently has 122 active cases – two in the COVID-19 ICU and the remaining 120 in institutional isolation. There are also 16 persons in institutional quarantine.
Meanwhile, the number of persons to date to recover from the deadly virus is 116.
As local authorities continue to grapple with flattening the curve of the local coronavirus outbreak, Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) remains the epicentre of the outbreak in Guyana.
However, there have been a significant increase in COVID-19 cases in Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) – a situation which the DCMO says is being tackled in a collaborative manner.
“I wish to inform the residents, particularly in Regions One and Seven that the Ministry is working collaboratively with the various agencies within the region[s] to address and help arrest the situation that is threatening to spiral out of control. We are calling on all the residents to cooperate with the health officials as we work to contain the spread of the disease in your communities,” she stated.
Moreover, Dr Gordon-Boyle further pleaded with Guyanese to do their part and respect the curfew and other measures in place to prevent the spread of the deadly virus especially since health workers are risking their lives on the frontlines to continue to screen the population, provide testing for suspected cases, and treat the positive cases.
“Guyanese, I want you to know that COVID-19 is real, stop mamaguying. Please note also that the full effect of COVID-19 on the human body is not fully known; you can recover from the coronavirus disease, but may develop other conditions that you previously did not have, which can result in possible death. So, my fellow Guyanese, let’s follow the guidelines,” she implored.