Guyana now has 70 confirmed novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, while some 12 persons have now recovered from the disease.
This announcement was made yesterday by de facto Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence during a COVID-19 update.
Lawrence stated that the number of cases moved from 67 to 70 as of Thursday, with those tested now numbering 375. The number of persons who have died from COVID-19 remained at 7.
Lawrence added that the number of persons who have recovered from the virus has increased to 12, while 17 persons are in institutional quarantine, 51 are in institutional isolation and 5 persons remain in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit.
According to Lawrence, since the country recorded its first case of COVID-19, 23 persons required ICU care and 12 of those persons improved following care and were removed to a “step down” facility while 5 deaths occurred in the ICU.
The minister went on to say that health authorities have been experiencing challenges as it relates to persons who were in contact with COVID-19 cases and she said that it was mainly due to the associated stigma.
Public health officials have all expressed the importance of contact tracing in fighting the spread of COVID-19. The exercise is currently underway and is part of the measures used by health officials in Guyana to combat the spread.
According to Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karen Gordon-Boyle, health authorities have to trace the steps of persons who test positive or are suspected cases from the time that it could have been possible that they contracted the virus.
She explained that this was previously done for other cases, including the index case where they traced from the airport and had to find all of the persons that the index case was in contact with while passing through the airport and everywhere else that the index case went and was in contact with persons so as to track those persons down and to ascertain if they were infected.
Gordon-Boyle added that a list of persons is created and health authorities would alert them that there is a possibility that they may have contracted the virus and as a result those persons are put on home quarantine for 14 days during which officials will be in contact with them to record information and possible changes in their conditions or if they develop symptoms of the virus.
