By Feona Morrison
Guyana’s devoted healthcare workers, like those from around the world, are battling to save humanity from the dreaded Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
From doctors performing emergency operations to nurses caring for patients, helpers, laboratory technicians, or even medical waste handlers; they have all provided Guyana with exemplary services working around the clock.
Many of them have left their loved ones behind, travelling from near and far to care for those in need, especially those infected with the Coronavirus disease.
In this regard, some of the biggest names in Guyana’s music industry came together last Saturday evening, May 30, 2020, to honour these workers on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19.
The event was a virtual concert ‘Standing Together- One Guyana’, which was organized by the Ministry of Public Health and the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).
The one and a half hours long event which combined music, dances, drumming and real stories from doctors and nurses, was live streamed via NCN, Facebook and Voice of Guyana.
The concert also honoured those in Guyana and abroad who lost their lives to the deadly virus, and those who won in their fight.
Apart from that, the concert also served as an awareness campaign as President David Granger, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, doctors and nurses encouraged the citizenry to stay at home, stay sanitized, wear masks and practice social distancing.
During a brief address, President David Granger reminded, “The dreaded COVID-19 has affected us all regardless of race, religion, region of residence and social rank…”
In her remarks, Minister Lawrence stated, “I am proud to state that our healthcare professionals are the smartest, most innovative, most conscientious people I know. They are seizing the opportunity to find innovative solutions to the problems we face and continue to work tirelessly for the recovery of their patients and for the protection of all Guyanese. My heartfelt thanks to all of our caregivers for the energy, innovation and patient-focus solutions they bring to this necessary and ongoing task of fighting the spread of COVID-19 in Guyana.”
Among the highlights from the concert were musical renditions from Timeka Marshall, Charmaine Blackman, Poonam Singh, Jomo Primo, Michelle ‘Big Red’ King. The Dubraj Tassa Group and DJ Akelo were also among the evening’s lineup of performers.
There were some very noteworthy performances. One of them was a dance act by a group of nurses attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), which houses the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Attired in their uniforms and protective gear, the healthcare workers, through their dance, encouraged the public to practice social distancing and to stay strong in the fight to eliminate the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19.
“True heroes are not measured by the size of their strength, but by the strength of their hearts. While the whole world and Guyana are braving the COVID-19 pandemic, there are the COVID-19 helpers who are out there everyday in the fight to save our lives. For me, the heroes are the health emergency operations committee members who work tirelessly each day to implement the measure from the technical persons… These heroes put their lives at risk to save others from this infectious disease,” said Country Representative of PAHO/WHO, Dr. Williams Adu-Krow, as he saluted healthcare workers during the virtual concert which received thousands of views.
As of yesterday, Tuesday, June 02, 2020, health officials in Guyana conducted 14 more COVID-19 tests. There are no new cases and deaths remain at 12; the number of confirmed cases remains at 153. To date, the total number of persons tested is 1, 672 with the total number of negative cases being 1,519.
There are currently 70 persons who have recovered, 71 active cases in institutional isolation, two patients in the COVID-19 ICU and 25 persons in institutional quarantine.
Globally, as of yesterday, the statistics, according to WHO are as follows; total number of cases is 6, 057, 853 with 371, 166 deaths. In the Region of the Americas the total number of cases is 2,817,232 with 160,514 deaths.
Also, yesterday, the Health Ministry announced that the COVID-19 Emergency Measures (No.3) published in the Official Gazette on April 29, 2020 and effective until today, Wednesday, June 3, 2020, is extended to June 17, 2020.
