Underlying conditions contributing to most COVID-19 deaths -Health Minister

Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony today said spikes will happen, but he noted systems are in place at the Georgetown Hospital to better treat the most severe cases of COVID-19.

Underlying conditions contributing to most COVID-19 deaths   -Health Minister

The number of COVID-19 related deaths in Guyana continues to climb. There has been a spike in the number of deaths in this month of September, making it the deadliest month since the pandemic started in Guyana back in March.

Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony today said spikes will happen, but he noted systems are in place at the Georgetown Hospital to better treat the most severe cases of COVID-19.

“These numbers when you look at what is happening globally, these trends, are similar in other countries. We would prefer not to have any deaths but the reality is that we are having deaths…At the Georgetown Hospital where most of the severe cases come, we have been able to provide the ICU with the equipment they need and the medicines they need to treat the severe patients”, the Health Minister said.

The number of COVID-19 related deaths recorded so far for this month is more than the total number that was recorded in the previous five months.

Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony

The Health Minister said more than thirty of the persons who died were over the age of 70 and almost all of those who died had pre-existing conditions.

“We have had about 73 deaths since March to now and when you examine the persons who died, you would see than more than 30 of those persons are older, and that means they are like 70 years and higher and we all know that older persons are at severe risk for this infection and have the infection in a more severe way…the other thing that we have noticed with our deaths, is that most of the people who have passed away had co-morbidities, meaning that they had some other underlying condition. Of the 73 we are talking about, more than 25 had diabetes, you have persons who had cardiovascular diseases, persons who had passed away who had cancers, persons who had end stage renal diseases and a few who had other infectious diseases”, the Health Minister said.

Dr. Anthony said it is important for all citizens to follow the COVID-19 guidelines and ensure they wear their mask once going out in the public. He said the Health Ministry has been doing all that it can to slow the spread, but citizens must realize that they also have a role to play.

Guyana has recorded 44 new COVID-19 cases as of yesterday, taking the total number of active cases to more than 900 with the majority of those persons in home isolation.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login