The Ministry of Health on Saturday announced that three women who were infected with COVID-19 have died, increasing the country’s death toll from the virus to 338.
In a statement, the Ministry identified the women as a 40-year-old resident of Region Six, who succumbed on May 13th, as well as an 80-year-old and a 72-year-old, who were residents of Region Four and who both died on May 14th.
The ministry said that the three patients were admitted with COVID-19 symptoms and died while receiving care in a state institution.
The ministry also yesterday debunked claims circulating on social media that the 40-year-old fatality from Berbice died after being administered her second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“The Ministry categorically rejects as mischievous and unsubstantiated claims on social media that a resident of Region Six died on May 13 after taking the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” it said in a separate statement.
It explained that hospital records show that the woman was administered her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on April 15 and was scheduled to receive her second dose on May 19, 2021, at the Skeldon Hospital. The ministry stressed that there was no evidence that the woman’s death was linked to the COVID-19 vaccine.
As a result, the ministry encouraged persons to get vaccinated while stating that the vaccine is safe and effective.
Meanwhile, according to the COVID-19 dashboard that was released on Saturday, 180 new cases were confirmed from 1,053 tests that were conducted, increasing the total number of cases recorded in the country so far to 15,163. Of the new cases, 98 are from Region Four, 30 from Region Three, 20 from Region Five, 12 from Region Ten, 6 from Region Two, 5 from Region Nine, 4 from Region One, 2 each from Region Six and Region Seven and 1 from Region Eight.
The dashboard also showed that there were 16 persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 106 in institutional isolation, 1,822 in home isolation and 10 in institutional quarantine.
Based on the dashboard from last Sunday to yesterday, 895 new cases have been recorded from 6,777 tests done.
