Five new COVID-19 cases from 76 tests

Five more persons were tested positive for COVID-19 bringing the total number of cases to 320 as of July 17, 2020.

The Ministry of Public Health revealed that the five new cases came from 76 tests conducted in the past 24 hours.

To date, the total number of persons tested is 3,558 with 3,238 being negative.

There are 19 COVID-19 related deaths while the number of active cases in institutional isolation is 145, including five in the COVID-19 ICU while eight persons are in institutional quarantine.

As Guyana proceeds into the third phase of reopening of the economy on Saturday which includes a further relaxation of the COVID-19 guidelines and a reduction in the curfew time, the Ministry reminded that restrictions on social activities remain in place as well as the social and physical distancing protocols.

Some of the measures relaxed include:

• the extension of the curfew hours from 6:00 to 8:00pm,
• the reopening of stores and business places from 8:00 to 5 pm
• the return to work of persons employed in the public and private sectors on rotation
• Restriction of Indoor and buffet dining, but permission for outdoor dining up to 6:00 pm provided the hygiene measures and physical distancing protocols are respected. Deliveries will be permitted up to midnight.

“I know that many of us will want to take full advantage of these new measures, but please do not throw caution to the wind and behave as if the situation is back to normal. Do not forget that COVID-19 is still a highly infectious disease, that there will be asymptomatic persons around us from whom we may become infected,” Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle said.