Guyana tops 709 Covid-19 cases

…Kuru Kururu man is death #23 on day when 35 new cases recorded

The Guyana has recorded its 23rd Covid-19 death in the person of 73-year-old, Wilfred James of Kuru Kururu.

Village Voice was told that James had been troubling with hypertension, which complicated his condition and fight against the disease. He was being treated in the Covid-19 Intensive Care Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Most of the Covid-19 deaths thus far here have been elderly persons with underlying medical conditions.

Meanwhile, Guyana on Sunday recorded 35 new Covid-19 pushing the national figure to 709. Most of the new cases in recent times have been traced to the hinterland and government has restricted travel to Regions 7, 8 and 9 as it seeks to control the spread of the disease.

Chronic disease 

Back in May Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne had said that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Region of the Americas must include chronic disease care, as 1 in 4 people are at increased risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 due to underlying noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)

Noting that more than 2.4 million cases and over 143,000 deaths have made the Americas the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Etienne said “as cases continue to rise in our region, our efforts to protect those with underlying conditions must intensify.”

In South America, “we are particularly concerned that the number of new cases reported last week in Brazil was the highest for a seven-day period, since the outbreak began. Both Peru and Chile are also reporting a high incidence,” she said. For most countries in the Americas, “now is not the time to relax restrictions or scale back preventive strategies. Now is the time to stay strong, remain vigilant and aggressively implement proven public health measures,” Dr. Etienne said.

“We have never seen such a deadly relationship between an infectious disease and Non-Communicable Diseases. Some of the data are truly alarming. Especially for our region, where NCDs are pervasive,” she said.

Persons with diabetes are twice as likely to have severe disease or die, and 28 percent of cancer patients who contracted COVID-19 died, compared with 2 percent of overall patients, she said, citing recent studies. Smoking also increases the chance of severe disease from COVID-19.

Stay at home measures, disruptions in provision of health care services, as well as the fear of attending care facilities have resulted in reduced elective clinic visits and lower access to renal dialysis, cancer care, and delays in high priority treatments for patients with NCDs, Dr. Etienne said. Many health workers who normally provide care for people with chronic disease “have been redirected to the COVID-19 response, adversely impacting the timely diagnosis and treatment of NCDs,” PAHO’s Director added.

Lower access to care from disruptions in health care services “puts patients at higher risk of complications and death from diseases which we know how to treat,” and health systems must find ways to respond “or we will be faced with a parallel epidemic of preventable deaths of persons with NCDs,” Dr. Etienne said.

Prior to COVID-19, 81 percent of all deaths in the Region of the Americas were due to NCDs and 39 percent of these deaths were premature, occurring before 70 years of age. PAHO’s Director said it was important to find safe methods of delivering essential clinical care for people with NCDs during the pandemic. “For example, many countries are quickly scaling up telemedicine, prioritizing scheduled appointments to avoid crowded waiting rooms and providing services in novel ways.”

Dr. Etienne said that countries should ensure that supply chains for essential NCD medicines are protected and continue to function efficiently, and that these products are distributed to the people who need them.

“We also must ensure timely access to care for chronic diseases to prevent them from becoming life-threatening. PAHO is working with countries in the region and providing guidance to help plan and implement these measures. As cases continue to rise in our region, our efforts to protect those with underlying conditions must intensify,” she emphasised.

Ease in curfew 

However, even as the number of cases continue to climb, the new government adjusted the curfew to 9pm- 5am.

In a release the Government of Guyana said it has made a rapid assessment of the response to the COVID 19 pandemic and has found that it was fragmented, and incapable of administering the public health, economic and social measures needed to keep the population safe.
“The Government of Guyana has initiated a complete overhaul of the current public health response. Government has looked at the approach used in other territories, especially in the Caribbean, and has resolved that a multi-sector and multi-faceted approach has been the most successful model, with an aggressive policy of detection, contact tracing and if positive isolation. Over the last week the Government of Guyana engaged various sectors to developed clear guidelines on epidemiological, social and economic conditions to keep people safe, and put measures in place to support business and households.”
These current regulations would be extended for a limited period, to allow for further assessments and consultations as we develop updated protocols, leading to the eventual and systemic opening up of the economy, the ministry said.