Reg 7 COVID-19 cases stand at 135

Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) is a budding hotspot for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and positives have reached an alarming 135 cases.
The Regional Administration would have provided a regional breakdown of the statistics on Monday, which showed that 49 cases were recorded in Aranka, 23 in Devil’s Hole, 19 in Batavia, 15 in Bartica, nine in New Found Out, five from Melangree, four from Agatash, two in Big Hope and one in Riversview.
From Bartica, there were two reported deaths. The Regional Health Emergency Operations Committee (HEOC) would have assisted in garnering this data, which shows that positive cases were generated after contact in Bartica. No cases have been detected in the Upper or Middle Mazaruni zone.
The spike in Region Seven circled around the continued mining activities, which the previous coalition Administration had refused to remove from the list of essential services. This was despite concerns from the various representative bodies and community leaders. By the time it was done, there was a significant rise in cases.
Over the weekend, random testing was conducted on 94 persons, who were still awaiting their results. The Committee is still monitoring cases in the region and tracing cases to curtail further spread.
As of Sunday, 14 new positives raised the total statistics to 568. Of these new cases, seven were males and the other seven were females. The 361 active cases include 357 from institutional isolation and the remaining four in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
There are 47 persons in institutional quarantine. Meanwhile, both the number of recovered cases and the number of COVID-related deaths have remained the same at 189 and 22, respectively. To date, a total of 5280 persons have been tested for the novel coronavirus in Guyana.
These figures were reported by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud on Monday, as he reminded the population to remain vigilant and get tested should they detect any symptoms.
“Guyanese, I urge to you to come forward and get tested if you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 or if you have been [in] contact with someone suspected of the disease. Further, persons who have concerns about their status regarding COVID-19 can make contact with our testing sites for an evaluation. Being tested means you know your status and gives you the ability to seek the necessary treatment and further prevent the spread of this detrimental disease,” Dr Shamdeo outlined.
With the majority of Guyana’s coronavirus cases recorded in its hinterland regions, the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has already indicated that additional doctors and other medical personnel would be deployed to those areas to assist with the outbreak that is rapidly spreading in those regions. In fact, only Friday a team was deployed to Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) – one of the hotspots. (G12)