Nearly 1,000 infected with COVID; Dr. Anthony pleads with people to stay isolated

A total of 967 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in just one day as the number of active cases in Guyana continues to climb due to the suspected presence of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

This is according to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony who also said that a majority of the people infected are experiencing mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

In just three days, the Ministry of Health reported that 2,231people have tested positive for COVID-19.

During his daily COVID-19 update on Thursday, Dr Anthony said that Guyana has a total of 3,481 active cases currently. For context, active cases refer to the number of people currently infected.

A majority of these active cases are in Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica). In this region, there are 2,289 active cases and 1,106 cases are in Georgetown.

Other COVID-19 hotspots in Region Four include Diamond, Providence, Eccles, Grove, Herstelling, Mocha, Mon Repos, Golden Grove, Triumph and Enterprise. Dr. Anthony pointed out that there has been a rapid uptake in cases along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

With the growing number of cases, both Dr. Anthony and President Dr. Irfaan Ali have assured members of the public that the local health system has enough capacity to test and care for infected individuals.

But on Thursday, Dr. Anthony pleaded with infected individuals to remain isolated to prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus.

“All these persons that currently have active COVID, remain in isolation and follow the protocol that has been established,” Dr. Anthony pleaded.

Importantly, though, he noted that health authorities do expect that people infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will recover much quicker.

Previously, he noted that people should recover in about a week’s time.

There are currently 70 patients hospitalised across the country after experiencing the more severe symptoms of COVID-19; 38 of those people are at the ‘Ocean View’ hospital in Liliendaal, Georgetown and six are receiving critical care in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).