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United State Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Lynch and her deputy have both gone into self-quarantine after they have had contact with Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd who has been diagnosed with the Novel Coronavirus disease.
In a terse statement on Thursday Lynch said that the Embassy community are committed to the protocols laid out by the Guyanese Ministry of Health with regard to COVID-19. “To that end, in light of the recent revelations from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Lynch and the Deputy Chief of Mission are both getting the PCR diagnostic test and will remain self-quarantined until they are cleared by medical personnel,” the release stated.
In addition to Lynch, British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn had also had contact with Minister Todd. It is not clear whether he has taken similar steps. Todd has interacted with several diplomats and other officials including his staff at the ministry since taking office. President Irfaan Ali in making announcement of his minister on Wednesday urged Guyanese to take the necessary precautions to stay safe.
President Ali also announced that the entire Cabinet has been ordered to undergo COVID-19, and work remotely pending their results. Ali made the announcement by posted social media video on Wednesday, as he stressed that government is looking to be transparent in how it deals with the situation, and therefore made the decision to go public with the Minister Todd’s results. “The Minister of Foreign Affairs brought to my attention that he came into contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19. He decided to undertake the COVID-19 test which came back positive. I have since advised him to inform all individuals whom he came into contact with to work with the Minister of Health to facilitate contact tracing and testing,” Ali said.
The President did not specific how long ago Todd is estimated to have come into contact with the infected individual. “I have made a commitment to conduct affairs of the government transparently and there is no greater issue that requires transparency than the way we address the COVID-19 pandemic so I have taken this step to inform the public of this situation,” Ali further noted
Todd along with 18 other Ministers was sworn in last Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, as the new Cabinet was formed. All of the other Ministers are being tested. “I have advised all Cabinet members to undergo a COVID-19 test as a precautionary measures… and to work remotely until they receive the results of their tests,” Ali informed. Since his appointment Todd has met with a number of foreign dignitaries including British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn; and Ambassador of the United States of America, Sarah-Ann Lynch. Todd also held a number of familiarization exercises with the Heads of Departments and staff of the Ministry. Ali said that the government is committed to doing everything to ensure the safety of the Guyana people.
“My government has taken a holistic and comprehensive approach which prioritize testing, increased provision of personally protection equipment (PPE) and inter agency collaboration in response to this pandemic,” Ali conveyed. He also took the opportunity to call on Guyanese to continue to take precaution and follow the guidelines set out by the MoH. “I want to also take this opportunity to remind all Guyanese that this pandemic has no barriers… wear your mask, ensure as far as possible adhere to social distancing. This is a time when all of us must come together, work together to ensure our country and all our citizens stays safe,” the President said.
On Wednesday Guyana recorded another 21 new cases of the COVID-19 virus, and another patient has been transferred to the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), however another two persons have recovered from the virus, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health. The newest cases would have included Todd. The new cases were discovered after an additional 96 persons were tested over the past 24 hour testing period, increasing the total number of persons to have been tested to 5462. Of the new cases 14 are females and seven are males.
The new cases brings the country’s total confirmed cases of the virus to 623, while the number of active cases has risen to 412. Five of those cases are in the COVID-19 ICU. All of the active cases are under institutional isolation, while there are some 49 persons under institutional quarantine.
The number of recovered cases has now increased to 191, while, thus far, the country has recorded a total of 22 deaths as a result of the virus. In Guyana, the virus has affected all of the country’s regions except for Region 5, with Region 4 leading the list. To date, Region four has accounted for 26 percent of the cases; this is followed by Region Seven which accounts for 24 percent of the cases; then Region Nine which accounts for 21 percent of the cases. Region Three and 10 recorded five percent each; while Region Eight recorded 2 percent and Region Two recorded 1 percent. The confirmed cases are equally shared between the two genders. Declared a pandemic in March, the COVID-19 virus has infected over 19 million persons, and has been responsible for the death of over 700, 000 persons since the initial outbreak was reported in China back in December 2019.
