Guyana has been recording COVID-19 cases through community spread and in clusters, according to Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Narine Singh.
According to Dr. Singh, the World Health Organization defines community spread as when more than 20 cases are recorded in one region or area.
In an interview last week, he said that looking at the epidemiology overview of the novel coronavirus in Guyana, there are two main regions that have recorded most of the COVID-19 cases in the country, being Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), although cases have been recorded in all regions.
Dr. Singh said that it is expected that most of the cases recorded are from Region Four as it is the most populated region. “That’s where we expect the number of cases and then this is where the city is and the majority of the population is,” he added.
As it relates to Region One he said that there are some areas where there is community spread and also others where there are just clusters of cases being recorded. He said this is caused by a number of factors which include having imported cases due to cross-border movement and also persons not adhering to the public health measures.
“We’re seeing in some of those areas some small clusters [of cases] and that’s because of the same thing again, imported cases coming in and then you’re [also] seeing community spread in other areas,” he said.
