COVID infections climbing in Regions Three and Four

INFECTIONS DUE TO COVID-19 HAVE JUMPED recently in Essequibo Islands/West
Demerara (Region Three) and Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four) a concerned Health Minister,
Dr Frank Anthony has reported.
In Region Four, the most populated of the 10 Administrative Regions making up Guyana, in
which also is the country’s main town, Georgetown, minister Anthony said there are 409 active
cases. He said countrywide, 1,910 active cases were recently diagnosed.
“In terms of hospitalisation we have 104 persons who have been hospitalised at Ocean View (the
spanking new infectious diseases hospital),” the minister reported in his daily COVID-19 TV
broadcast.
“We have 78 persons in the hospital right now and we have 26 persons who are in the ICU. So,
you can see within a very short period of time, our ICU numbers have moved from about 12
right up to 26. So, this is showing that there are cases, people are getting infected where they are
getting a more severe form of the infection,” which many here suspect is the Delta variant.
Anthony blamed the recent spike in cases to failure adhering to COVID-19 protocols such as
mask wearing, social distancing and sanitising.
Guyanese must continue taking “all necessary precautions” to protect against contracting
COVID-19, especially with the emergence of the Delta variant, the minister counselled.
“One of the best ways that you can protect yourself is really getting by getting vaccinated,” the
he reminded.
So far, 311, 539 persons, or 60.7 per cent of the country’s adult population, have taken the first
dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 160, 649 or 31.3 per cent are fully inoculated.
The government plans revealing statistics for the nation’s vaccinated adolescent population
shortly.