Health Minister points out that local physicians to be trained to detect, treat long COVID

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony said that while Guyana is on a path to recovery with fewer Coronavirus positive cases, the disease continues to affect countries across the world with hospitalisations and deaths. However, many persons are still suffering from the chronic phase of the disease, experiencing symptoms long after falling ill.

It was revealed that this condition is known as the long-term effects of COVID or long-COVID. Minister Anthony disclosed that in order to better detect and treat patients, it is important that local physicians be trained to manage the condition. “The first week of June we’ll have a training for physicians, a lecture that would be done by one of the top experts at Mount Sinai, and this will be done for Guyanese physicians,” Dr . Anthony said.

He added, “So, we’re hoping with the training that a lot more of the medical doctors would become familiar with long-COVID, and hopefully they’ll be able to detect it, and offer proper treatment for these patients.”  Minister Anthony pointed out that long-COVID mostly affects persons with underlying illnesses and those who were hospitalised; however, it can also occur in persons with a milder form of the disease.

The health minister stressed that the ministry has also put in place a multidisciplinary team at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where persons experiencing long-COVID symptoms could be tested and treated. Dr. Anthony disclosed that government is spending a lot more time focusing its attention on patients’ rehabilitation.

The minister disclosed that long-COVID symptoms can be both physical and mental. He said that physical symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste and headaches, while mental symptoms include depression, anxiety and memory loss. Minister Anthony issued an appeal to persons who are experiencing symptoms of long-COVID to get treated as early as possible.