The Public Health Ministry has announced that no new case was confirmed from the 22 COVID-19 tests that were conducted over the last 24 hours.
Director of Primary Health Care, Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton
This was revealed by Director of Primary Health Care, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton, who delivered Wednesday’s COVID-19 update.
She noted that the number of confirmed cases remains at 156, and COVID-19 deaths at 12.
Among these 156 cases, 10 are from Region One (Barima-Waini). The region’s cases increased after another case was confirmed
on Tuesday (one of two new cases recorded that day).
The new victim is from Moruca, and is a teacher at the Santa Rosa Primary School. Already, the sub-district has recorded three cases, including Region One’s first death.
On May 25, 59-year-old Vincent Torres died as a result of the novel coronavirus. He was Guyana’s 11th COVID-19 death. His wife and son – both teachers — have also tested positive for the virus, and are in isolation.
Guyana Times understands that Torres’s wife teaches at the Santa Rose Primary – the same school as Moruca’s newest victim.
Region One now has seven persons in total who are in isolation.
Nevertheless, the Director of Primary Health Care disclosed during her update on Wednesday that the total number of persons tested thus far has gone up to 1,876, of which 1,720 are negative cases.
There are 52 active cases in institutional isolation, six persons in institutional quarantine, and one patient in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).
Meanwhile, the number of persons who have recovered from the life-threatening disease to date has gone up by six, bring the total to 92.
According to Dr Hamilton, the Public Health Ministry continues to pay close attention to the impact the novel coronavirus is having on the Region of the Americas.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported some 3.4 million positive cases, along with over 185,800 deaths in the Region.
Globally, there are now over 7.1 million positive COVID-19 cases, and more than 408,000 deaths.
To this end, the Director of Primary Health Care at the Public Health Ministry is pleading with Guyanese to play their part in flattening the curve by adhering to the guidelines in place to protect persons from contracting, or even spreading, the life-threatening disease.
“You are cognisant of the contributory factors that lead to a flattening of the curve: Physical distancing, Cough and sneeze etiquette, handwashing and, most importantly, staying at home. I encourage you to keep spreading this message in your communities, so that we can arrest the spread of COVID-19 and begin to reshape our lives with some measure of normalcy,” she posited.
Dr Hamilton went on to talk about asymptomatic cases, pointing out that approximately 35 per cent or more of Guyana’s confirmed cases have been asymptomatic. “This simply means that we have healthy persons around us who have the COVID-19 and are unaware of their status because they have no signs or symptoms, hence the advisory on wearing masks in public, and keeping your distance.
“For fear of repeating myself, let’s try to remain safe and healthy,” she stated.
The Director of Primary Healthcare further encourage Guyanese to visit one of the COVID-19 facilities if they are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, or if they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
Persons are also reminded to use the COVID-19 Hotlines, which she noted are available in communities for citizens’ safety and protection.
