Guyana’s Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony today lamented the decrease in COVID-19 testing within the regions. He said that this ‘hesitancy’ can easily contribute to increased transmission and deaths in the country.
With less testing, fewer persons are unaware of their status and will not be subjected to isolation, thus allowing them to widen the spread of the disease through contact with others.
He posited, “the challenge that you have is that people are not coming forward to be tested…That’s the problem that we have. So, sometimes in the regions, we have low levels of testing because they don’t want to be tested. In some cases, they might display signs and symptoms but they just don’t want to be tested, because testing would confirm that they do have COVID, and then maybe they have to abide by the rules and they don’t want that…But the problem is: they are going to infect a lot of people around them. That’s why they must come froward and get tested so that we can isolate them and take the appropriate actions.”
The Minister also reported that some 164 persons are hospitalised with COVID-19. He said that 84 patients are at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Liliendaal, East Coast of Demerara (ECD), with 30 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He added that patients, who require oxygen, are also at the Port Kaituma, Suddie, West Demerara, Experiment, New Amsterdam, Skeldon, Bartica, Mahdia, and Wismar hospitals.