Public Health Ministry adequately supplied to tackle COVID-19
—Ministry of Finance releases funds for additional supply shipment
—Minister Lawrence urges Guyanese to take all necessary precautions
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, March 17, 2020
The Ministry of Public Health is implementing measures to curb the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Minister of Public Health Hon. Volda Lawrence.
Currently, four persons have been confirmed as having COVID-19 in Guyana. These patients, along with other suspected cases are currently housed in quarantine facilities managed by the Ministry of Public Health.
Minister of Public Health Hon. Volda Lawrence on Tuesday said the Ministry of Finance has released funds for additional medical supplies which are slated to arrive in Guyana in a few days. These supplies will include additional testing kits.
With over 150 countries or territories having confirmed cases of COVID-19, Guyanese are urged to continue taking all necessary health precautions.
The Public Health Minister reiterated the need to take social distancing and hygiene practices seriously to help minimise the spread of the virus.
The Ministry of Public Health is currently working towards boosting staff capacity for sanitation work and its visitation and monitoring team. Additional numbers have also been added to the hotline list to facilitate a smoother process.
Currently, the National Reference Lab at the Georgetown Public Hospital is the only facility in Guyana with staff trained and certified to conduct COVID-19 testing.
The Minister gave assurances that every suspected, probable and confirmed case is receiving treatment in MOPH-controlled quarantine facilities.
A suspected case is a patient who may have been exposed to someone already tested positive for COVID-19 and/or a patient with an acute respiratory illness (such as a fever) and at least one sign or symptom of respiratory disease (coughing or shortness of breath).
A probable case refers to persons who would have tested for COVID-19 but their results came back inconclusive.
Confirmed cases refer to those that have been tested positive for the COVID-19.