High recovery rate of COVID – 19 patients; Anthony says severe cases responding well to Remdesivir

Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony, in drawing attention to the high recovery rate for persons who have tested positive for COVID – 19 in Guyana, has registered his approval for the use of the drug Remdesivir to treat critically ill patients.

Remdesivir is an anti-viral drug administered by Intravenous (IV) Therapy to COVID-19 patients suffering from severe symptoms.

Guyana began using Remdesivir to treat COVID – 19 patients experiencing severe symptoms just over two weeks ago and already the Minister said he has received positive reports from doctors who are currently attending to these patients in the ICU at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

“From what the doctors told me, this has made a huge difference in the severity with how people would experience COVID-19,” he said.

Early international clinical trial results for the drug indicated a quicker recovery period, from 15 days to 11 days. The drug is being made available to Guyana at a cheaper cost.

Minister Anthony also alluded to the fact that the drug was never listed on the Ministry’s inventory as it was not available for purchase on the international market. Dr. Anthony said the recovery rate for positive COVID 19 persons is around 75% as he praised the work being done at the GPHC ICU. He said the ICU is now fitted with the equipment needed to treat the patients including ventilators and CPAP machines

Doctors in the public health system are also using the drug Dexamethasone to treat COVID-19 patients.

The overall known cases as of noon on Monday (September 28, 2020) stands at 2,772 of which 1,120 persons are in home and institutional isolation. There are 12 persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, while 890 persons are isolated at home and 230 are in a medical institution.

Additionally, there are 75 persons in institutional quarantine while the number of persons who have recovered is now at 1,564. The number of deaths is at 78 and the number of persons tested to date is 13,589.