The first confirmed case out of Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) is among the five new COVID-19 cases, raising the overall number in Guyana to 109, according to de facto Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence.
The number of deaths remains at 10 and six persons are in the intensive care unit including one who is intubated.
Tracing the origin of the Region Nine case will be particularly important since neighbouring Brazil has seen a steep increase in cases and deaths and Guyanese and Brazilians travel back and forth through illegal border crossings.
Lawrence stated that over the weekend a total of seven new cases were recorded and an additional five yesterday, making it a total of 12 new cases in just three days. An additional 16 tests were done yesterday, making it a total of 930 tests with 821 persons testing negative for the disease. Thirty-six persons have since recovered and 63 persons are in institutional isolation.
During the update, Lawrence pleaded with persons to put aside fear and stigma and come forward with any information they might have about possible cases. She said that the list which shows the areas where confirmed cases have been identified was released but persons have been reluctant to disclose any information about contacts. She further noted that during the month of March PAHO’s analysis of expected COVID-19 cases in the Americas showed that Guyana was likely to have 1,400 cases. As of April, a further analysis showed that if no measures were put in place Guyana would have 20,000 cases by May, hence the advisory to have persons stay at home, among other measures, was instituted to flatten the curve.
However, she noted that persons have not been adhering to the measures put in place. Lawrence then warned that the aforementioned model figures could become a reality should Guyanese continue to ignore the control measures advised by the ministry.
She further stated that in Brazil, the number of confirmed cases has increased by 10,222 in 24 hours with deaths rising by 751. According to the World Health Organization, as of May 10, globally there was a total of 3,917,366 confirmed cases with 274,361 deaths. In the Americas, the number of confirmed cases has increased by 18,536 with the number of deaths rising by 6,830 in just 24 hours.
