MoH tracks hundreds who mingled with relatives of dead coronavirus victim

The Public Health Ministry is working to locate and ascertain all the persons who would have been exposed to the novel coronavirus after coming into contact with the 52-year-old woman of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD), who died on Wednesday last.

Just a few days after the woman died, her husband, child and a close relative have all tested positive for the virus.
Despite the warning against public interactions, scores of people attended a wake held for the deceased at her Good Hope, East Coast Demerara home on Thursday last.
But persons were still in disbelief that the woman died of the coronavirus and went “to investigate whether the claims were correct.”
In fact, one young lady after the visit stated that “I didn’t want no hearsay, I wanted first-hand info. Every member of the family was there along with neighbours and other relatives. The daughter of the deceased said to me that nothing that the Ministry said on national television was true,” a young lady stated in a Facebook post after visiting the family.”
Last week, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Shamdeo Persaud stated that the Ministry is currently tracking down everyone that came into contact with the woman.
“We have started from the flight. Everyone who was on that aircraft, we know it wasn’t a full flight. We are making an effort with Customs Immigration who would have other contact information to make contact with all those persons,” the CMO had stated.
He further added that “we have continued the screening at the port, we at up to 120 persons so far. We are taking their temperature and an information card, so if they do develop, we would really like to encourage to take a few moments and read through the information we are giving. It can be life-saving for you and all your loved ones.”
Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Karen Boyle when contacted on Monday stated that as many as 200 persons could have been exposed to the woman, but the Ministry is still trying to confirm the identities of those persons.
“All the places we know she went to, the hospital, the taxi, the airport, the passengers, the family, the wake and so on.”
She noted that the laws of Guyana provide for anyone to be held accountable if they do not comply with the Ministry’s steps to stop the spread of the virus.
On Monday the Public Health Ministry issued a statement to passengers of the Caribbean Airlines flight BW 727 on March 12, 2020, from JFK, New York, to CJIA, Guyana, to call 592-624-6674 for urgent information.
The coronavirus has since left more than 4200 people dead and another 118,000 infected across the world.
Local health authorities have advised that if anyone is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, they should contact the hotline on 227-4986 ext 215 or 624-3067 and a team would be sent to their location.