COVID-19 cases continue to decline – Health Minister

COVID-19 cases in Guyana continue to record a steady decrease, one month after the country recorded a huge spike in positive cases.

There are currently 864 active cases, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony revealed during Thursday’s COVID update. Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica) has majority of the infections with 343 cases.
Hospitalisation numbers are also down to 54 with 39 people at the Infectious Diseases Hospital and seven in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

“We are doing better than we were in January but we have to keep warning people that we cannot be complacent,” Dr Anthony stressed.

There has also been a significant reduction in COVID-19 related deaths.

In January of this year, 116 people died; 44 deaths have been recorded thus far for February.

There is also a stark difference in the number of cases recorded in January; 20, 293 cases were recorded and only 2, 407 have been recorded in February thus far.

The government recently changed its protocol for testing and has lifted the curfew that was in place since March 2020. Now, only persons who present with symptoms of the virus can be tested at government labs.

VACCINATION

To date, 84.1 per cent of the adult population received their first dose vaccine and 63.6 per cent received their second dose. The vaccination campaign in children aged 12 to 17 is now at 45.9 per cent for first dose and 33 per cent received their second dose.
Booster doses is now at, 49, 517.