Guyana’s active COVID-19 cases now at 741

…as more recoveries recorded

The Health Ministry is witnessing a positive trend in its efforts to curb COVID-19, after only 28 cases were detected on Friday along with 19 recoveries. This took the total confirmed cases up to 5839 – 3015 of which are males and 2824 females. Of this amount, the country has recorded 4944 recoveries.
The latest statistics show deaths remaining at 154 while six persons are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). There are 43 persons in institutional isolation, 692 in home isolation and 26 patients in institutional quarantine. The total active cases is 741. Of the 4944 recoveries, 19 were recorded on Friday. Meanwhile, Guyana has so far tested 33,020 persons.
A breakdown showed that four new cases were detected in Region One (Barima-Waini), one in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 14 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), two in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), one in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), one in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and five in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
There are still 172 case Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 182 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and 389 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Properly managing resources
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony has zeroed in on the heavy costs that are attached to the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs), noting that the consumption rate has increased significantly.
During the COVID-19 update, he shared that now that there are enough supplies, there is an indication of wastage. In light of this, he said responsibility should be taken to ensure that these resources are managed properly.
“We have been constantly consuming PPEs and therefore, we are in constant need of PPEs. Sometimes I think our health workers are using it in excess. That is another area that we need to look at because our consumption pattern in PPEs have gone up tremendously. A couple of months ago, people were complaining that they weren’t getting it. Now it seems like when they get it, they’re wasting it,” the Minister insisted.
He added, “That is something we need to look at very carefully because these things are very expensive. They cost a lot of money and of course, there’s always challenges in procuring it from the global supply chain. So, we need people to take responsibility and not just use these things and throw them away very quickly.”
Going forward, the Ministry will be launching new clinical training in the area of COVID-19 in 2021.
“We anticipate that we will be doing some additional training for our laboratory staff. We’ll do some more in terms of vaccines because as more information becomes available and we become clearer on which vaccine is coming to Guyana, then we will run specific training dealing with vaccines,” he shared.
If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, kindly contact the COVID-19 Hotline on 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health.gov.gy.
Information from the World Health Organisation stated that most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.