April now the deadliest month of the pandemic with 46 deaths

By Vishani Ragobeer

The month of April will now be recorded as the deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic following the death of two more persons on Friday, taking the toll to 46.

The latest deaths also mean that 279 persons have died overall since the first case and death was recorded in March 2020. The latest fatalities are two women, a 60-year-old from Region 6 (East Berbice- Corentyne) and a 65-year- old from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). They both died while receiving care at a medical facility on April 23.

Previously, October 2020 was the deadliest month for Guyana since the pandemic started in March 2020. On Thursday, April 22, Guyana equalled October’s total of 44 deaths.

Additionally, on Thursday, Guyana also surpassed 12,000 cases of COVID-19 in Guyana, also recorded since March 2020.

When asked recently about the surge in cases and deaths in the month of April, which signals a third wave in Guyana, Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony underscored that there are no new or novel measures for prevention.

“We know that to prevent disease, we have to prevent transmission. You prevent transmission by keeping a social distance, you have to avoid crowded environments (and) you have to wear a mask,” Dr Anthony explained.

He lamented that when these measures are not adhered to, the coronavirus will continue circulating in the population, thus, infecting more people.

If people abide by the guidelines, however, he emphasised that they can be kept safe. Importantly, too, he said that vaccination can complement these public health prevention measures.

“While it (vaccination) does not prevent the infection per se, it would also reduce the severity of the disease which is more important, so you would not end up in the hospital, you would not end up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and you would not die,” Dr. Anthony posited.

Locally, more than 100,000 people have received their first jab of one of the three COVID-19 vaccines being used locally. The three vaccines currently used in Guyana’s vaccination rollout are the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, made by the Serum Institute of India; the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, kindly contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 IMMEDIATELY or visit the Ministry’s website at www.health.gov.gy.