Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall confirmed yesterday that the mining town has recorded its first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) case.
Though five cases were recently recorded in Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region 7), Bartica was COVID-19- free until the results were confirmed on Thursday, the Mayor said, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).
Marshall said that the victim, who was on assignment in the region would have travelled through the hinterland region before finding out they were infected with the virus.
The victim and another person who had travelled to Aranka, a COVID-19 hotspot in Region 7, were tested and only one result came back positive. However, both are currently in institution isolation. Another two suspected cases who were in contact with the person who tested positive are also awaiting test results.
The Mayor of Bartica is calling on residents to treat every contact as a suspected case.
“Treat everyone as a suspected case it which therefore means you will keep the necessary distance between yourself and that individual. You will protect yourself by wearing a mask and ensure that the person you are speaking to or communicating with you, that they also wear a mask. You must ensure that your children are off the streets and home and you will also comply with the curfew,” he stated, according to DPI.