Guyana records 5th COVID-19 case

Guyana has confirmed its fifth case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
This announcement was made by the Public Health Ministry on Wednesday.
Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence made the announcement explaining that the country’s fifth victim is a relative of Patient zero – a 52-year-old female, who travelled from New York and brought the deadly virus to these shores.
Lawrence, in a message, noted that the Ministry, through the activated Health Emergency Operations Centre, continues to locate and quarantine other persons who came into close contact with the woman and her immediate relatives.
“To date, due to the diligence of our health personnel who are working assiduously to contain the spread of COVID-19, the numbers have been kept down. We can ill afford to become complacent and in some cases even nonchalant and laid back. The threat is real; it is not discriminatory and so we must all shoulder our responsibility resolutely and be resilient in adherence to the precautionary measures that have been established,” Lawrence noted.
She also emphasised that the COVID-19 situation in Guyana presently remained under control; however, this does not mean that preventative measures and other mechanisms must be forsaken. She said some measures taken to combat the spread of COVID-19 include the closure of schools for sanitisation exercises, closure of airports to international incoming flights, shift system at workplaces for public servants, and temporary cessation of large gatherings for two weeks.
Guyana’s Patient Zero entered the country on March 5 and travelled to her Good Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home before becoming fatally ill. Before dying, she visited a private medical institution where she was suspected of having the virus, owing to her symptoms, and was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she died on Wednesday last.
Posthumous tests revealed she was positive for COVID-19 which caused an immediate panic in the healthcare system. Further tests have revealed that her husband, child and a relative are all carriers of the virus.
Initially, the Public Health Ministry placed the family under self-isolation. However, there were reports of the family allegedly holding a wake for Patient Zero, which resulted in a number of persons coming into contact with them.
In an effort to contain the spread and better monitor the confirmed cases, the Health Ministry decided to impose a mandatory quarantine on those who tested positive. They are currently being housed in a facility prepared by the Ministry on the West Coast of Demerara.
It was only after four confirmed cases were detected in Guyana that it was announced that the Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) would be partially shutting down the country’s two main airports – Cheddi Jagan International Airport and Eugene F Correira International Airport.
This announcement was made by GCAA Director General Egbert Field on Tuesday.
The closures took effect from midnight Wednesday. Priority will be given to outgoing flights, cargo flights, medevac flights or technical stops of aircraft that require fuel, and specially authorised flights.
According to the World Health Organisation, Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and had not been previously identified in humans. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.
Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs and avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
Additionally, the Health Ministry advises that the only facility in Guyana that is capable of testing for COVID-19 is the National Reference Lab operated by the Ministry.
Local health authorities have advised that if anyone is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, they should contact the hotline on 231-1166, 624-3067, 624-2819 or 624-6674 and a team would be sent to their location.