Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud today reported 12 new cases of the Coronavirus in Region One.
An edited version of Dr Persaud’s statement today follows:
Fellow Guyanese, I am Dr Shamdeo Persaud, Chief Medical Officer and thank you for joining me for today’s COVID-19 update.
If you are following the updates in the Caribbean and the rest of the world, you are aware by now that some of the countries that managed to stop transmission have begun to report the emergence of new cases, a clear indication in most instances, that persons have returned to the practices of life before COVID-19, with the relaxation of some measures instead of maintaining the practices that we must adapt in embracing living with COVID-19.
Within a few hours Guyana will begin the process of relaxing some measures and the experiences of countries that have embarked upon this before us must be taken into consideration. We must use their lessons as a guide; worthy of note is the recognition that Guyana’s cases have never stopped climbing. We need you to understand that you are much more vulnerable than those countries that were able to reduce their cases.
Now for the update of the situation in Guyana;
As of 18th June, 2020, of the forty-two (42) tests conducted, there have been twelve new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 183. All the new positive cases for today are from Region #1, which showed a 100% increase in their number of positive cases.
We have conducted 2048 tests so far with 1865 being negative. 102 persons have recovered to date. In institutional isolation we now have 69 active cases and 24 cases in Institutional quarantine. The number of COVID-19 deaths remains at 12.
An analysis of all the positive cases indicates;
· 52% are males and 48% females
· The age groups with the most cases are the 20-29, 30-39 and 40-49; in essence we are talking about the adults. Of that groups the 20-29 has the highest number.
· Region 4 has 56% of the cases, followed by Region 7 with 16% and Region 1 with 13%. The 3 regions represent 85% of all the COVID-19 cases. The other 5 regions have 15% of the cases
Conclusions from this analysis clearly indicate that there is a need for behavior change among the adult population especially men in the 20-29 age group.
