“It’s like they forget about us” – COVID-19 patients at Moruca

COVID-19 patients who were placed at the Amerindian Hostel in Moruca, Region One (Barima-Waini), have shared their tales of the poorly sanitised environment and innutritious meals at the facility – a situation which has been ongoing for several weeks, much to their frustration.

The Region One zone has been labelled by health officials as the new hotspot for the virus after close to 100 cases were detected.
On Saturday, patients staying at the facility decried the current facilities and treatment which they are subjected to. They claimed that it is exasperating to be locked in their surroundings without proper care or any indication that they are recovering.
Wyndell Rodrigues told Guyana Times that she was transferred to the facility on June 12, where she currently occupies a room with two other patients. At the hostel, she explained, their meals are delivered late. On most occasions, persons are given a small portion of an “undercooked” carb component with no vegetables or fruits.

“We are having breakfast or lunch, not on time. There is an elder person and it is really difficult. The patients are feeling more sick than anything else…Patients have been crying in here and I feel so sad. My roommate is very frustrated because she has a family at home and a six-year-old and there is nobody looking at the family at home in terms of food supply,” the concerned woman expressed.
She added, “The food is poor…Sometimes, it’s pieces of bake not fully cooked. It’s undercooked. We don’t get greens. In the morning, it’s an oily sauce. If I am at home, I would have a better meal than that. If we are focused on recovery, then definitely we need something that will build our immune system.”

Sanitisation
Along with the meagre meals, patients were told to sanitise their own surroundings since the cleaner was not tasked with carrying out such duties. Rodrigues explained that there are elderly persons or others with symptoms who are finding it difficult to do so.
Meanwhile, the cleaner was unable to take out the trash due to a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

“For three days, the rooms weren’t cleaned. When we found out today (Saturday), the cleaner said she asked if that is a part of her job and she was told that each patient is responsible for cleaning their own room…There was a pile-up of garbage and she said that was because of a shortage of PPE gears that they’re supposed to wear,” the patient revealed.
Meanwhile, there are no sheets for patients to use and those who have are forced to use the same one for weeks.
“When we got here on Sunday, we walked with sheets. When people asked, they were told that there isn’t any. For one week, their sheets weren’t changed.”

Slow testing
Also staying at the facility is 49-year-old Yvette Torres. She is the wife of the country’s 11th COVID-19 fatality, Vincent Torres.

The woman and her son tested positive for the virus over six weeks ago and were first placed at the Acquero Guest House. There, their meals were commendable and provided on time.
Since she was moved to the hostel, Torres said she has been in a state of distress due to the living conditions.
“The first place was good. Everything was up to date but since I came here, it is far different. Since I came here, they don’t really come to sanitise. Today (Saturday) was the worst day of all. We have to clean. They’re not coming to do anything. They did a little spraying on the wall and that was it,” the COVID-19 patient voiced.
Her son, 28-year-old Twain Torres, also lamented that they are waiting for long intervals before being tested and for those results to return. On one occasion, he was told by one of the doctors that the test was positive. Three days later, they clarified that the sample showed up negative.
He expressed that health officials seem to forget that they are still battling the deadly virus, since the conditions remain below par, coupled with late testing.
“In terms of testing, my test came positive and then it came negative. They test again and wait a week to say the test was misplaced or something. Now, I did a next test and then that one said positive. It’s like they forget about us. They didn’t test us in a long while,” the young man
“For us, we tested again since Wednesday and we haven’t received our results. We don’t know when we’re going to get it. There’s a little child here that hasn’t been tested for over 10 days. It is becoming frustrating,” Rodrigues also added.
Similar complaints have been raised over the past months by COVID-19 patients in other facilities – many of whom spent weeks before recovering.