…enhanced testing needed – Jagdeo
Guyana has recorded one more COVID-19 case, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus to 74. 
According to the Public Health Ministry’s updated COVID-19 dashboard on Saturday, the number of deaths remain at eight. Guyana recorded its latest coronavirus fatality on Friday following the death of 45-year-old Lennox Williams. He was a patient at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and had suffered from other complications.
In addition, the Ministry noted that the number of persons tested for the life-threatening disease to date has gone up to 442 – of which 368 were negative. There are five persons in the dedicated COVID-19 ICU.
Meanwhile, the number of persons in institutional quarantine has climbed to 23 while there are still 54 persons in isolation. Additionally, the number of persons who have recovered from the deadly virus remains at 12.
However, even as the Ministry reported on Saturday that 32 more tests were conducted since the previous day, calls are being made for there to be increased testing for COVID-19 – a pandemic which has been devastating countries around the world, killing more than 187,000 persons and infecting in excess of 2.7 million people.
Enhanced testing
During a virtual media briefing on Friday, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo said that based on consultations with medical professionals, enhanced testing is needed in Guyana.
“We are testing too few people and… if you have the virus, there is a stigma attached to people. So many people are afraid of being tested and they are afraid that if they test positively, they’ll be placed in quarantine facilities that are not conducive to the non-spreading of the virus or in conditions that are not livable,” he stated.
On Thursday caretaker Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence disclosed that the Ministry continues to face the challenge of under-reporting from persons who have been in contact with a COVID-19 case because of the stigma associated with the coronavirus.
Nevertheless, Jagdeo contended that the country needs to work on removing the stigma, thereby enhancing testing. He said that it is unbelievable that only 400-plus persons have been tested so far.
“When countries are boasting about testing several percentages of their population, we’re lagging not just behind but unbelievably way behind…,” he stressed.
The Opposition Leader further noted that countries are already moving towards testing for antibodies when Guyana is still playing catch-up with COVID-19 testing. He pointed to recent reports from New York in the United States where nearly 1 in 7 people who were randomly tested for coronavirus antibodies turned out to have them.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has revealed that the antibodies suggest these people were exposed at one point to the coronavirus and recovered. The State launched an antibody study on Monday last and collected around 3000 samples from 40 locations in 19 counties for testing.
Using this as a catalyst, Jagdeo, a former President of Guyana, pointed out that there could be persons here who could have unknowingly contracted the disease and are asymptomatic.
“So at some point in time, we have to step up the testing of antibodies because there may be a large number of people out there who have the virus now or who may have had it and didn’t even know, and now they could be showing positive for the antibodies,” he stated.
This call by Jagdeo for increased COVID-19 testing comes days after the Public Health Ministry’s updated figures on Wednesday showed that there were no changes in the number of tests conducted in the last 24 hours.
Wednesday’s figure for the number of tests conducted was 348 – the same figure given on Tuesday.
This was despite calls by the Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Dr Carissa F Etienne, for accelerated and expanded coronavirus testing in countries of the Americas.
During a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, Dr Etienne said there is a need for a clearer view of where the virus is circulating and how many people have been infected in order to guide actions.
“The pandemic continues to impact our region, and it’s vital for all countries to actively embrace preventive measures while preparing for more cases, hospitalisations and deaths,” she noted.
