Mon, Jun 29, 2026
Mon, Jun 29, 2026
Lethem teacher flown to GPHC to treat illness contracts COVID-19 and dies
A 25-year-old teacher of the Arapaima Nursery School in Lethem, Region Nine who was air-dashed to the Georgetown Public Hospital to treat a blood disorder, contracted COVID-19 while admitted there, her family claims and died from complications just before midnight Saturday.
Donna Ambrose Greaves, a mother of a 7-year-old boy will be recorded as Guyana’s 15th COVID-19 death, less than a week after two others died from the same disease.
Her family, especially her husband is in despair, and are blaming the public hospital for negligence.
Franklin Greaves, in a teary Facebook video post, revealed that his wife was admitted to the Lethem Regional Hospital on June 25 after she complained of chest pains and weakness.
Donna was admitted to the ward and an initial COVID-19 test returned negative.
But her condition worsened and doctors realised that she needed blood and so she was air-dashed to the city on June 27.
Donna’s brother-in-law, Kenan Greaves, told the News Room Sunday that upon arrival at the GPHC, doctors did another COVID-19 test and placed the young mother in a ward with suspected COVID-19 patients.
Her results came back negative.
The teacher then collapsed and she was rushed to the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (GPHC). According to the brother-in-law, the family questioned why she was placed in the COVID-19 ICU when she tested negative.
According to him, doctors informed the family that they didn’t “trust” the last test results.
Donna was subsequently removed from the ICU and the doctors then did another COVID-19 test which came back positive.
By this time, Donna’s condition worsened and she was again placed in the COVID-19 ICU where she battled for her life for five days before dying at around 23:00h on Saturday.
Her husband, in his Facebook post said, “So we know she got contaminated at the Georgetown Public Hospital by their negligence…they infected her by accident or negligence.”
Franklin said he will be “following up with action” against the Georgetown Public Hospital.
He clarified that everyone who came into contact with his wife in Lethem, including the doctors, tested negative for the disease but they were placed in quarantine.
Franklin said it has been more than a week since he came into contact with his wife.
Guyana continues to see a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and now three persons have died in less than a week.
The country’s 14th COVID-19 death was a 34-year-old father of three of Bartica. Abdool Khan died at the Georgetown Public Hospital on July 2; he too was in the COVID-19 ICU since June 22.
His three-year-old child is among those tested positive for the deadly disease in Bartica. Just two days prior to Khan’s death, Guyana recorded its 13th COVID-19 death at the GPHC.
That individual was identified as 42-year-old Bent Street, Albouystown resident.
Kevin Ridley was referred to Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital on Monday, June 29 by another health facility. He had complained of shortness of breath and so doctors at the hospital conducted a COVID-19 test on him but he died hours later the same day at the hospital.