The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday confirmed that another person who was infected with COVID-19 has died, increasing the country’s death toll from the virus to 478.
In announcing the latest fatality, the MoH said the deceased was a 50-year-old woman from Region Nine, who died while receiving care at a state medical facility.
Stabroek News on Friday had reported on the death of the woman, Glenda Bernard, of Kumu, in Region Nine. Bernard was a cook attached to the Lethem Regional Hospital. Prior to contracting COVID-19, she was diagnosed with Dengue Fever. She succumbed at the Lethem Hospital.
Up to yesterday, two persons had died since the beginning of July. There were 14 fatalities recorded over the past week. Based on the statistics provided by the ministry, 78 persons who were infected with COVID-19 died last month, representing a decline in fatalities from a high of 99 in May.
Meanwhile, the MoH COVID-19 dashboard yesterday showed that 74 new were confirmed, bringing the total number of official cases in Guyana to date to 20,305. Of the new infections, 6 are from Region One, 5 from Region Two, 9 from Region Three, 38 from Region Four, 3 from Region Five, 4 each from regions Six and Nine, 2 from Region Seven, 1 from Region Eight and 2 from Region Ten. The new infections were confirmed from 1285 additional tests.
The MoH’s COVID-19 dashboard also indicated that there were 15 persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 97 persons in institutional isolation, 1448 in home isolation and 8 in institutional quarantine. On Friday, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony announced that Four children with the virus are in the Infectious Disease Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as he pleaded for citizens to take the necessary precautions.
Based on the dashboards from last Sunday to yesterday, 531 cases have been confirmed from 8,072 tests. The Government last week extended the National COVID-19 Emergency Measures until the end of this month.
The order extending the measures, which was published in the Official Gazette, retains all of the measures that were in place for last month. This includes mask wearing at workplaces, in public and while travelling; the 10.30 pm to 4:00 am curfew, restrictions on social activities, such as private parties, wakes, cinema, among several others, along with and physical distancing.
The measures came into effect on July 1st and will continue until July 31st unless earlier terminated by the Minister of Health. Persons who fail to comply with any of the measures commits an offence under section 152 of the Public Health Ordinance and would be liable on summary conviction to the penalty provided under that section.
