…159 dead already mostly in Regions 4 and 3
… persons in their 60s and 70s prove most at risk this year
By Lisa Hamilton
Some 159 persons have died in Guyana from COVID-19 in the first four months and one week of 2021. This is almost equal to the number of persons that have died from the virus over a 10-month period in 2020.
In other words, while there were 164 deaths from COVID-19 in 2020, there are already 159 deaths from the same for 2021. The total number of deaths as of May 7 is 323. As the year progresses, each month has shown a higher death toll to the virus with April being the month with the most deaths the country has seen from the virus to date. There were 13 COVID-19 deaths in January; 20 in February; 36 in March; 66 in April and 24 as of May 7, 2021, at 14:30 hours.
While the first 7 days of April shocked many Guyanese as a total of 19 deaths were recorded, the first 7 days of May have now surpassed this number standing at 24, an increase of five more deaths. As many as 5 deaths occurred on May 2 and 6 individually.
For the year, more males than females have died. While 61 females died, 98 males died. On a global scale, more men are also dying than women. There are many factors being considered that may have led to this reality. This includes men perhaps being more likely to be exposed to the virus due to social factors; a disproportionately male workforce which could place more men in contact with infected people; or men’s lungs being more vulnerable because they were more likely to smoke globally.
Meanwhile, the oldest person to die for the year was 94 years old while the youngest was 26. The ages with the least deaths from the virus this year were those in their 20s — three deaths; those in their 30’s — five deaths; and those in their 90s — three deaths.
All other age ranges showed a high prevalence of deaths. For those in their 40s –16 deaths; those in their 50s –33 deaths; those in their 60s –46 deaths; those in their 70s –36 deaths; and those in their 80s — 17 deaths. This therefore shows that persons in their 60s and 70s have proven more likely to die as a result of contracting the virus.
When it comes to the Region with the most prevalent deaths for the year thus far, Region Four holds the position with 78 deaths. For Regions One, Two, Eight and Nine there were single deaths. For Region Three –27 deaths; Region Five — 6 deaths; Region Six –18 deaths; Region Seven –10 deaths; and Region Ten — 16 deaths. This therefore shows that, after Region Four, Region Three has the highest number of deaths thus far for the year.
