DPI – Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony has attributed the spike in COVID-19 cases this month to the carefree behavior of the population during the month of December.
There are currently 816 active cases and the Minister is urging citizens to observe the gazetted COVID-19 measures to prevent the further spread of the disease.
In December, the Minister had cautioned persons against relaxing the social distancing, masking and hand sanitation practices, warning that this could lead to a spike in positive cases.
“Coming close to end of December, we had probably 350 active cases. Now, we are up to 816 active cases. So, we have seen that increase over a very short period of time because people were not adhering to the guidelines we would have established,” Dr. Anthony said during Friday’s COVID-19 update.
He said while the Ministry and relevant authorities are working to curtail the spikes around the country, every individual has a role to play in keeping themselves and others safe.
“I hope that people pay attention to what is happening because we can only fight this virus if we are all fighting together, each one of us need to take on responsibilities.
We need the assistance of the public and the public can help us by doing the right thing by wearing their masks, sanitise their hands, keep their distance,” he said.
Minister Anthony noted that apart from new cases, there has also been an increase in hospitalisations of COVID-19 patients, and deaths over several weeks.
Currently, there are 19 patients at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and two others at the Linden Hospital Complex.
“We have spoken about these preventive measures repeatedly, but we just don’t want people to hear them and know them, we want people to practice what we have been saying because this will actually save a lot of people’s lives,” Dr. Anthony said.
As of Friday, January 29, Guyana has recorded 7,528 COVID-19 cases, while 48,309 tests have been conducted. Some 6,541 persons have recovered while 175 persons have died.
