May’s COVID deaths climb to 10 as 2 more die

…128 new cases recorded in 24h, death toll now stands at 310

Less than one week into May, Guyana has already reported 10 deaths from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
As of Wednesday, two more persons have died from the virus, taking the overall death toll to 310.
The Health Ministry on Thursday stated that a 57-year-old male and a 62-year-old female from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) died while receiving care at a medical facility.
On Monday, three persons had succumbed to the virus, followed by one more on Tuesday.
Statistics provided by the Ministry on Thursday showed that 128 new cases of the virus were detected in the previous 24 hours. An updated dashboard by the Health Ministry revealed that the total confirmed cases taking a steep increase to 13,957.
Sixteen patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 99 are in institutional isolation, 1745 are in home isolation and eight are in institutional quarantine. The country has seen 11,787 recoveries.
Some 127,708 individuals were tested thus far – of which the positives showed a gender breakdown of 6990 males and 6967 females.
Of the new cases, nine were recorded in Region One (Barima-Waini); five in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 30 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 42 in Demerara-Mahaica; eight in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); four in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); four in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); two in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); one in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and seven in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony expressed that authorities were fearful of cases coming in from Brazil. While law enforcement is monitoring the border regions, the porosity of the border provides a challenge in preventing such infiltration.
“We have a large land border with Brazil and we still see cases in Brazil. The fear is persons who are commuting back and forth can bring those cases to Guyana. Since January, we have worked very hard to restrict movement across the land border and air border. We have the Joint Services working hard to restrict movements. Despite our best efforts, I am sure there might be people who are slipping over,” he stated.
In the event that a positive case is detected, Dr Anthony assured that resources were being directed to contain a spread. The Ministry currently uses its health teams to provide sensitisation and control in these communities.
“If we become aware of a case, we try to put all the protocols in place to make sure that it is contained. Right now, with the cases we have seen in some of the communities, our health teams have really gone out to those communities and have really worked with those communities, advising them on the protocols that they need to take. So, we’re trying to contain the cases.”
As of Thursday, 31 per cent of the adult population was vaccinated across the country, amounting to 150,694 persons, with more than 6000 persons receiving their second doses.