COVID-19 patient still in isolation after nearly three months

Having spent 88 days so far in isolation after testing positive multiple times for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a 33-year-old patient is anxious to go home so he can provide for his family, which he says is being discriminated against.

The asymptomatic patient was among the first group of persons who were placed in quarantine following the death of Ratna Baboolall, who is Guyana’s first confirmed COVID-19 case.

The patient, who prefers not to be named, told Sunday Stabroek that his family was placed in quarantine at the West Demerara Hospital subsequent to the death of Baboolall. His wife and two minor daughters were tested 14 days after being placed in quarantine but their results were negative. They remained at the quarantine facility an additional week before they were tested again. Their tests results were negative while he and three other relatives tested positive. That was the first time he was tested. As a result his family was allowed to go home, while he and the other relatives were placed in isolation.