Six new COVID-19 cases recorded

Guyana has now recorded 215 cases of the novel coronavirus disease as six new cases were recorded yesterday.

This announcement was made during the Ministry of Public Health’s (MoPH) daily COVID-19 briefing where it was announced that out of 84 tests which were conducted during the last testing cycle, the six new cases were recorded. The highest daily number of tests that have been conducted to date is now 84, as it appears as testing is being ramped up again following the major increase of cases within the hinterland regions. The total number of persons tested to date stands at 2,355.

One more person has recovered moving the number of recoveries up to 108, while the number of deaths as a result of the virus remains at 12. There are now 95 persons in institutional isolation which accounts for the number of active cases in the country. Sixteen persons are in institutional quarantine while one person is in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

As the MoPH published the names of repatriated citizens who did not adhere to the quarantine guidelines, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, stated that the publication of their names was not to embarrass those persons but is part of the surveillance strategy, “… which helps us to track this disease so that the management can be more effective”.

Meanwhile the CMO suggested that parents should begin planning activities that can be done at home even as COVID-19 has disrupted the usual outdoor activities for children during the July/August vacation. He also reminded parents that the child health and antenatal clinics remain open as vaccinations and growth monitoring is an ongoing process.