By: Shemar Alleyne
The sister of a Senior Government Minister is the latest COVID-19 fatality, which now takes the death toll to 143.
The woman has been identified as Patricia Cummings of Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Guyana Standard understands that Cummings was tested on November 11, 2020, when she was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
She had diabetes and was suffering from hypertension. She died yesterday in the dedicated COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit of the GPHC. She was admitted with shortness of breath and weakness.
When this publication contacted the woman’s family, her daughter was still trying to figure out where the elderly woman might have contacted the virus.
“I am not sure how she contracted it because she was tested and then started to get symptoms. I am not sure how she got it,” the woman’s daughter said as she asked for her identity to be concealed.
The young woman was keen to point out that she is a health care worker at GPHC. She has also tested positive for the deadly coronavirus.
However, she is unsure if she had infected her mother or if her mother had infected her.
Cummings is the 17th person to die from the deadly disease for the month of November.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry’s dashboard, as of November 18, 2020, Guyana has recorded 62 new cases. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 4,976.
There are now seven patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 104 patients in institutional isolation, and 757 in home isolation. At the same time, an additional 62 patients are in institutional quarantine. The recoveries to date are 3,965.
If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 or needs any additional information, they can contact the COVID-19 Hotline on 231-1166, 226-7480, or 624-6674 immediately or visit the Ministry’s website at www.health.gov.gy.
