One of the persons who died during the month of August from COVID-19 has been identified as 66-year-old Bernard Fernandes, a resident of Mabaruma, Region One.
According to relatives, who did not wished to be named, Fernandes died three weeks ago at the Mabaruma Hospital. Thirteen days after his death, they were informed that his COVID-19 test result was positive, surprising the family who disclosed that he did not display signs of the disease while at home.
Stabroek News was told that a few days before his death, Fernandes fell ill and was taken to the Mabaruma hospital where he was diagnosed with dengue and leptospirosis. He was discharged from the hospital the same day and he returned home. However, his condition did not improve and he lost his appetite.
He later complained about feeling nauseous and was taken to the hospital the following day. An hour and a half after his arrival at the hospital, he died. According to one of the relatives, they were told that when he was admitted to the hospital he began suffering from shortness of breath which caused the attending doctor to suspect that Fernandes might be infected with COVID-19.
“It was shocking how he gone and die because he was strong and not bed-ridden. I spoke to one of the nurse and they said that is was surprising how he died was just like that. He died about one o’clock in the morning the same time he was taken to the hospital. It was then the senior doctor say he was troubling from the thing [COVID] and told them to bring the oxygen from the trauma room but by time they did that he had died,” the relative related.
He added that when they were told that Fernandes had died from COVID-19 they were very surprised as he had not displayed any symptoms of the virus except fever and the taxi driver who transported Fernandes to and from the hospital told them that Fernandes did not seem sick and spoke with him all the way to the hospital. In addition, the relative said, Fernandes was still strong because he walked to the car by himself when they were going to the hospital.
Diabetic
The relative also revealed that Fernandes was diabetic. He worked as a security guard before having one of his legs amputated as a result of the disease.
To date, the family is unsure how Fernandes could’ve contracted the disease. They stated that because of his condition, he spent most of his time at home and would only leave when he had to go to the hospital for treatment. Moreover, when he did go to the hospital, he usually wore a mask and adhered to all the precautionary measures put in place to prevent persons from contracting the virus.
“They say because he was diabetic it could take him down fast. His wife left and gone to town a week before he tek in sick. He never left the house but he usually go to the clinic only then he went to the hospital but for the past week before he died he did not go anywhere and he follow all the precautionary measures. Other than the hospital, the car does pick he up and drop him to the hospital and carry him home back,” the relative added.
While they are uncertain if the COVID-19 sample was taken before or after Fernandes had died, the family said that they were warned that he might have been infected with the virus when they requested his body for burial.
Two days after he died, the family held a funeral for Fernandes. Members of the family who attended all observed the COVID-19 protocols in place to prevent transmission of the disease.
“We followed the guidelines and the doctor told us that it was a suspected case and they gave the persons who was going to dress the body, gowns (PPEs) so everybody was protected,” the relative noted.
The health team is currently conducting contact tracing and a few members of the family were placed in quarantine. They were instructed to call the hotlines if they began experiencing any symptoms of the disease.
Sharp increase
Meanwhile, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Barima/Waini (Region One) is concerned with the coronavirus situation in Mabaruma especially since there has been a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.
Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley told Stabroek News that over the past few days Mabaruma has recorded more than 25 cases of COVID-19 and those persons were subsequently placed in isolation. In total, the town has recorded 50 cases of COVID-19, 37 of which are active cases. Only twelve persons in the town have recovered from the disease. “We are very concerned with the surge in the number of cases that we have been finding. This would’ve been as a result of more prudent contact tracing for persons who had tested positive. For instance, there was a wedding that happened in August early, most of the invitees of that wedding tested positive and that is coming through contact tracing,” he said.
He noted that the government has increased testing and considering that Mabaruma is one of the COVID-19 hotspots in Region One, mass testing has commenced in the town. This, he says, is why more cases are being detected in the town.
Additionally, in response to the increase in COVID-19 cases, the dormitory of the secondary school in Mabaruma has been turned into an isolation facility to accommodate future COVID-19 positive patients. They also have additional facilities, Ashley informed.
The regional chairman mentioned that the Mayor and Town Council had recently put forward a recommendation for a lockdown to be imposed on Mabaruma. He added that no decision has been made in this regard but the Regional Task Force is currently discussing and exploring other options that do not require such a stringent measure.
“It is being discussed because shutting down a complete society warrants a lot of things to be in place before that takes place because of the burden that may go on families and community organisations and leadership. All of that has to be taken into consideration so right now the regional task force is exploring what other possibilities are available besides shutting down a community or a town and also to work within the confines of the current COVID regulations and guidelines to see how best we can tighten government-imposed measures in the villages to see how best we can flatten the curve,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said, public awareness campaigns are ongoing and officials are urging residents to adhere to all the guidelines that have been outlined by the Ministry of Health in order to curb the spread of the disease. He added that they have put various protocols in place to strengthen and implement the COVID-19 guidelines that were gazetted. The Moruca-sub district has recorded a total of 119 COVID-19 cases, 21 of which are active. The sub-district also recorded one death. Fifty-eight-year-old Vincent Torres died in May shortly after being admitted to the Kumaka District Hospital in Santa Rosa.
The Matarkai sub-district has also recorded seven cases which are distributed between Port Kaituma and Matthews Ridge. There have been no recoveries or deaths recorded in this region.
