No new COVID-19 cases recorded in 2 days

Over the past two days, Guyana has not recorded any new cases of the novel coronavirus, (COVID-19) as the statistics remain at 127.
The Public Health Ministry posted a dashboard, which showed that there were no new deaths. Some 1401 samples were tested, in which 1274 returned negative.
There are 59 persons in isolation and five in institutional quarantine. Meanwhile, one new person was admitted to the designated Intensive Care Unit (ICU), bringing the number up to four. From the positive cases, 58 have recovered completely.
Since the beginning of May, the central focus of health authorities was centred on educating the male population, since they are leading the charts for both cases and deaths.
During the first week, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud had stressed that 80 per cent of the 10 recorded deaths were males. To date, that figure remains the same.
Dr Persaud has shared concerns over the fact that many men are disregarding guidelines and health practices to protect themselves from the coronavirus. He reiterated this message, amid the increased deaths in the male population.
“The message I wish to reinforce is to remind you that as breadwinners of the family you put yourself at unnecessary risk and jeopardise the life and livelihood of your families by not complying with the recommended measures,” he was quoted as saying.
This week, Men’s Health Coordinator, Dr Dennis Bassier sought to lament the poor health-seeking behaviour being demonstrated by men in Guyana, as they continue to lead the charts.
“This clearly indicates that persons are not taking note of and putting into practice, the strict guidelines for the prevention of transmission of COVID-19. It is the general understanding that men have poor health-seeking behaviour. This is further emphasised by the current situation…Lots of males that have been positively diagnosed are not single. As a result of this, their partners and their children have to be tested, due to them being exposed. There is no shame in wearing a face mask, in practicing social distancing or even constantly sanitising your hands,” he had highlighted.
This was repeated the following day by Senior Gender Affairs Officer at the Social Protection Ministry, Diego Alfonso, who indicated that these persons should look at the statistics and reconsider their practices, since 73 males have since contracted the virus.
The World Health Organisation’s data shows that there are 4,993,470 cases globally with 327,738 deaths. In the region of the Americas, there are 2,290,267 cases with 131,605 deaths.