The Health Ministry on Friday reported six more COVID-19 deaths, including that of a toddler, while active cases across the country neared the 9,000-mark with the confirmation of more infections.
The latest deaths reported by the ministry took the country’s death toll from the virus to 1,081 as of yesterday.
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony, who has said the presence of the Omicron variant of the virus is suspected to be fueling the significant rise in the number of infections, yesterday spoke about individual responsibility as it relates to curbing the spread of the virus. “For us to be able to bring the numbers down each one of us would have to take on our own set of responsibilities, so individually we have responsibility to do the right thing,” he said during Friday’s COVID-19 update as he spoke on the rise in reported infections and absences at workplaces.
He noted that if places become safer, the curve will go down.
However, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Aubrey Norton yesterday blamed government recklessness for the rise in cases.
During a press conference, Norton charged that the continuous rise in cases can be seen as a result of the relaxation and lax enforcement of COVID-19 measures during the holiday season at the end of 2021. With a massive increase in the daily number of reported cases being seen in the first two weeks of the New Year, Norton said, “This is clearly a case of government incompetence and recklessness having permitted super spreader events during the festive season.”
Meanwhile, the Minis-try’s updated COVID-19 dashboard showed 865 new cases after 3,153 new tests were done. It also showed 8,995 active cases, 15 of which are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
