Region 4 man is Guyana’s 170th COVID-19 fatality

…active cases drop to 378

A 65-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) is Guyana’s latest COVID-19 fatality, thus bringing the total to 170.
This follows on the heels of the death of a 58-year-old from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and a 39-year-old from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on Sunday. The men died while receiving care at medical facilities.
Before Sunday’s double fatalities, Guyana recorded its 167th COVID-19 death on Tuesday, January 5, 2021, when an 85-year-old male from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) succumbed.
However, a total of 13 new cases were recorded during a 24-hour period, taking the confirmed cases to 6588. There are three patients in the Intensive Care Unit, 52 persons in institutional isolation, 323 in home isolation and 30 in institutional quarantine.
From the 3398 males and 3190 females that contracted the virus, 6040 have recovered completely. To date, health officials have tested 41,741 but only 278 cases are active.
New cases were reported across three administrative regions, with one in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), eight in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and two in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
There are 976 cases in Region One (Barima-Waini), 204 in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 313 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), 549 in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), 216 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), 403 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 532 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
During Monday’s COVID-19 update, businesses and the general population were urged yet again to ensure that they comply with the established regulations. Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said he is hoping for collaboration between these stakeholders to prevent a surge in cases.
Recently, it was announced that the COVID-19 Task Force would be ramping up compliance with the guidelines, and several businesses have already been notified of their respective violations.
“We have been sending out warnings [to] several businesses across the country and the Task Force would be ramping up its operations. People need to be vigilant. Businesses need to comply with these regulations because they are there for a reason and that reason is to prevent the spread of the disease in Guyana. If everybody assists us and if we work collaboratively, we can all protect each other’s health,” Dr Anthony shared.
Amid claims that some businesses been given a free pass when they breached the regulations, he indicated that all which were identified have been warned. He suggested that those in question should be reported to the Task Force for actions to be taken.
“We have written to everybody and if there are any institution that people are aware of that were given a free pass to, then I’ll suggest that they contact the Task Force Secretariat and bring that to our notice because nobody is above the law.”
The Minister also expounded on the dangers of indoor dining, especially since it entails not wearing a mask. If a person partakes in these activities and is asymptomatically carrying the virus, they can unknowingly infect scores of people in close proximity.
It was advised, “Transmission does not only happen because of droplets. Transmission would also occur because of aerosols and in an enclosed environment where there isn’t much circulation happening. If you are going there for drinking and dining, obviously you don’t have on a mask and without a mask, if you are asymptomatic, you are shedding the virus.”
On the aspect of the new variant of the virus, he said discussions are continuing through the Caribbean Public Health Agency. During the first meeting, there were no suggestions or orders to shut down borders or transport arrangements. As such, countries were to decide if they were pursuing that route.
“Since we’re not doing genetic sequencing, it is going to be very difficult to unearth whether or not we have that strain in the Caribbean. It is only if we have a proactive programme of surveillance using genetic sequencing that we’ll be [able to] detect this. That is how the UK was able to detect this type of mutation,” he said.