There are about 354 individuals in Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo), who are currently infected with the disease, COVID-19, and Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said that the health authorities are trying to curtail the spike in the cases there.
During his COVID-19 update on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony noted that significant clusters of infections have been recorded in some communities. Of the 354 active cases, about 52 of those infected people reside in the capital town, Lethem; 50 infected individuals are from St. Ignatius; 38 are from Sand Creek; and, 24 are from Culvert City.
Significant spikes have been recorded in some Region Nine communities over the past few weeks. In Sand Creek, for example, the Deputy Toshao and Medex, Jude Isaacs related that a number of villagers and students in the dormitory were infected. There, also, one teacher, Ms. Marvalene Marco succumbed to the disease.
Due to the porous border separating that southern region from Brazil, there have long been concerns over the importation of the ‘P1’ variant of the coronavirus that originated in that region. This variant has since been renamed as the “Gamma variant” and is known to be more transmissible- or more easily spread from person to person.
Still, Dr. Anthony recently told the News Room that it is possible that this variant may have been imported but that Guyana does not have the scientific evidence to confirm this.
On Wednesday, however, the minister indicated that about 46.3 per cent of the targeted population in Region Nine have received at least their first dose of one of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Overall, 233,134 individuals, or 47.9 per cent of the targeted adult population, have received at least their first dose of the AstraZeneca, Sinopharm or Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines thus far. Additionally, some 108,752 individuals, or 22.3 per cent of the population, received both their first and second doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The regional vaccination rates, as provided by the Minister of Health, are as follows:
- Region One (Barima- Waini)- 59.1 per cent
- Region Two (Pomeroon Supenaam)- 43.7 per cent
- Region Three (Essequibo Islands- West Demerara)- 47.1 per cent
- Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica) – 49.4 per cent
- Region Five (Mahaica- Berbice)- 50.4 per cent
- Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne)- 56.1 per cent
- Region Seven (Cuyuni- Mazaruni)- 47.9 per cent
- Region Eight (Potaro- Siparuni)- 32. 7 per cent
- Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo)- 46.3 per cent
- Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice) – 14.6 per cent
