Guyana on Friday recorded its 20th COVID-19 fatality along with one new case.
The announcement was made on Friday by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle during the Ministry of Public Health’s daily update. Gordon-Boyle stated that one new death was recorded taking Guyana’s total death toll to 20. The health authorities provided no other information about the death. However a source stated that the individual died earlier this week and results from the test were only recently made available.
One new case was recorded on Friday, which increased Guyana’s total positive cases to 352. Eighty two more persons were tested for the virus bringing the total that have been tested in the country so far to 4,057 persons. There are currently 154 active cases all of which are in institutional isolation while 33 persons are in institutional quarantine. Four persons are currently at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Two more persons have recovered from the virus making it a total of 178 persons to recover.
As a number of government agencies and private businesses continue to transition and reopen, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer advised that as it relates to ventilation, employers should increase exhaust rates from air-conditioning systems, increase air flow from outside if possible, reduce or eliminate the recycling of air, and service air filters more frequently. She added that policies regarding the daily shutting down of air-conditioning units could be reconsidered where they are the only source of ventilation.
Gordon-Boyle added that if meetings are necessary, open spaces or rooms with outside ventilation should be sought while adhering to social distancing guidelines. “Video conferencing should be the new preferred modus,” she noted.
She mentioned that the Ministry of Education will take the lead decision regarding the return of students to schools and how workplace guidelines will be operationalised and spoke on the guidelines that schools should begin to consider. All persons entering schools must wear masks upon entering and entrances along with other strategic places should have hygiene blocks along with screening and temperature testing done at the entrances.
“It is suggested that the Ministry of Education via heads of schools, identify focal points and establish joint committees in collaboration with parents to consider the best way forward to create the safest environment for our students,” she said while emphasising that both parents and teachers should take joint responsibility for the policing of students during school hours to ensure adherence to guidelines.
