U.S. nears 500,000 COVID-19 deaths as Biden plans commemoration
-GPHC admitted 340 patients over last five years
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The United States faces a dark milestone this week despite a recent decline in COVID-19 cases as it prepares to mark a staggering half-million deaths, with President Joe Biden planning to memorialize the lives lost.
While the number of COVID19 cases fell for the fifth straight week and officials scrambled to inoculate the population, the nation was poised to reach 500,000 deaths from the highly infectious respiratory disease.
It has been nearly a year since the pandemic upended the country with dueling public health and economic crises.
“It’s nothing like we’ve ever been through in the last 102 years since the 1918 influenza pandemic . ... It really is a terrible situation that we’ve been through and that we’re still going through,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House COVID-19 medical adviser and the nation’s top infectious disease official, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday.
The White House said on Sunday it planned a memorial event in which Biden would deliver remarks.
A White House spokesman said the president along with first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff would hold a moment of silence on Monday and there would be a candlelighting ceremony at sundown.
Biden last month observed America’s COVID-19 deaths on the eve of his inauguration with a sundown ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool.
Biden will use “his own voice and platform to take a moment to remember the people whose lives have been lost, the families who are still suffering ... at what is still a very difficult moment in this country,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.
STILL AT ‘VERY HIGH’ LEVEL
More than 28 million COVID19 cases have rocked the United States and 497,862 have died, even as daily average deaths and hospitalizations have fallen to the lowest levels since before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The virus took a full year off the average life expectancy in the United States, the biggest decline since World War Two.
While the decline “is really terrific ... we are still at a level that’s very high,” Fauci said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “We want to get that baseline really, really, really low before we start thinking that we’re out of the woods.”
Fauci told CNN that Americans may still need masks in 2022 even as other measures to stop the virus’ spread become increasingly relaxed and more vaccines are administered, and they may also need a booster shot depending on how variants emerge.
Less than 15% of the U.S. population has received at least one vaccine dose, with nearly 43 million getting at least one shot and nearly 18 million getting a second shot, U.S. statistics show.
More localities are easing some restrictions, such as on indoor dining, and moving to reopen schools even as millions await their shots, sparking debate over the safety of teachers, students and others.
Financial pressures also continue
to weigh even as economists express optimism for the year ahead. Congress is weighing Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, with the House of Representatives expected to vote on it this week and the Senate seeking to pass it before March 14.
The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) says that a total of 340 cancer patient were admitted to the hospital’s oncology department between the periods 2016 – 2020. For the same period there were 42 deaths associated with the disease, this is according to data provided to Stabroek News by GPHC’s Public Relations Department.
According to the data provided, the admissions by year are as follows – 2016 – 89 admissions and 9 deaths; 2017 - 93 admissions (9 deaths); 2018 - 58 admissions (9 deaths); 2019 - 67 admissions (7 deaths) and 2020 - 33 admissions (8 deaths). Dr. Marissa Dazzle, an oncologist attached at the hospital’s oncology department, said that the data does not reflect persons who are currently being treated with the different treatments offered at the hospital, nor does it reflect recoveries. She has however noted that since the mid 2000’s the hospital has evolved in its service to ensure that patients are getting treated.
Treatment of cancers
Dr. Dazzle provided a breakdown of cancers that are common in Guyana, which are breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. She explained that there are four stages associated with the disease of which the fourth stage is the hardest to treat; according to Dr. Dazzle, when the disease reaches that stage, the body becomes very weak, and that makes recovery harder especially since some treatments, like chemotherapy, are strong medicines from which the body might not be able to recover from.
According to Dazzle, the fourth stage is often when the cancer cells have metastasized from the point of first detection and have spread across the body. To avoid this stage, she said that early diagnosis is recommended because once detected, treatment can start sooner. At the GPHC, treatment options vary between surgical and chemotherapy. She said that while radiotherapy is an option for cancer patients, this form of treatment is not offered at the hospital. However, other treatments, for example, surgical and chemotherapy can be obtained free of cost at the Public Hospital.
Chemotherapy, says Dr. Dazzle, can be used for all types of cancers; for prostate cancer, hormone therapy is offered prior to treatment with chemotherapy.
Dr. Dazzle recommended that persons do regular checkups for cancer detection and other underlying conditions. She said that persons don’t look for signs and symptoms, because maybe they think that because their relatives did not have it (they are safe), or simply think they are healthy and fine. She, however, advises that persons should be more observant of their bodies and do regular checkups when necessary. “It’s good for persons to be observant and be aware of their bodies and the changes when occurring. Notice when something is going wrong,” the oncologist told this newspaper and “Keep going and check,” she further emphasised.
Cancer detection
She said that for women and teenage girls, a simple breast check for lumps is a good start. Mammograms, she said are great ways for women to know whether they might have cancer cells. She said that if a lump, which might not have been in the breast before suddenly appears, it could be an indicator that cancer cell (s) is growing in the breast. She highlighted that one of the reasons that women can sometimes miss the signs is because they do not do routine checks. “You may feel well, just going about your business, but just a bump in the breast is a sign of cancer,” she said.
For men, possible signs of prostate cancer are signs of blood in the urine or difficulty while urinating. For colon cancer the signs and symptoms are diarrhoea or constipation more frequent than normal. Dr. Dazzle advises that persons who find themselves with any symptom that they get checked and if it doesn’t get treated by medication recommended by one referral, continue to seek other referrals and opinions. She said that persons need to continue seeking different opinions if they are not satisfied with the first, or second, or third. “Not being satisfied if you’re not well, get some treatment still not well? Go again. Seek opinions,” Dr. Dazzle stated.
She further said that she usually advise persons to “remember that cancer numbers are increasing every year worldwide and in Guyana, [so] if there is not family history of illness still do a yearly medical checkup.” Dr. Dazzle also advised that healthy diets and avoid smoking and alcohol helps to lower the risk of other chronic diseases as well.
Mother of a cancer survivor speaks
Stabroek News also spoke with Celeste Belgrave, the mother of cancer survivor, Mekyla Belgrave, who said that her daughter was born with cancer cells in her eye. She said that at first the doctors could not diagnose what was the child’s condition, however, when she was seven months old, the family took the infant to Dr. George Norton who recommended a Computed Tomography (CT or CAT) be done. The family agreed and then it was revealed that the child had bilateral retinoblastomas, a cancerous tumour in the retina.
Belgrave said the eye would appear as if there was glass over the retina, a sign that the tumor was growing. After the diagnosis, they joined the GPHC cancer clinic to await the surgery. The surgery was done in Trinidad and both of Mekyla’s eyes were removed. Though she has been visually impaired since, Mekyla has had no signs of cancer cells in her eyes and the mother declared that her daughter will be 16 years cancer free in March 2021.
Celeste Belgrave advises parents to do whatever it takes to ensure their children can live healthy lives and added that even if it is required that an organ is removed. She said trust in doctors and God is the way, further, she is thankful that she was able to ensure that her daughter would be able to live a cancer free life. Belgrave added that even though her daughter is visually impaired, she continues to make the family proud with her studies. She said that her daughter graduated at the top of her class for the National Grade Six Assessment and is currently enrolled at the North Georgetown Secondary School.
When it was confronted on November 19, 2020 with the murky issuance of two trawler licences to a then unknown person, the Ali administration should have done what every government committed to good governance does in such circumstances: suspend the licences and have an independent investigation done of what had transpired.
It did the opposite of this. It circled the wagons and engaged in dogged defence of the opaque issuance of the licences which remain in dispute and this will lose the government accountability points until properly settled. The two licences were issued sometime before November 19 last year, the exact date is unknown as the Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha – a senior executive of the PPP - has provided information elliptically and in dribs and drabs. Again not a good sign in this era where the demand for accountability is higher than it has ever been even if delivery often falls very wide of the mark.
The context of the PPP/C’s advent to office on August 2nd, 2020 is a useful backdrop. Having won the March 2nd 2020 general elections, the PPP/C was denied its legitimate right to office by a months-long bizarre and crude attempt to rig the elections in favour of the incumbent APNU+AFC whose many hitherto upstanding Mandarins waited patiently for the delivery of the goods. Thankfully, that rigging machine was derailed by a combination of thousands of voices and institutions here and unprecedented pressure from the international community.
Relief at his accession to office was evident in President Ali’s inauguration address of August 8, 2020 which though it didn’t address transparency in government touched on the need for fairness and consultation.
He stated “And, I promise one and all – those who supported me and those who didn’t – that I will be the President for all the people of Guyana, and I will serve each of you with affection, without discrimination and with every attention to fairness and equity”.
President Ali further said: “Central to fulfilling those pledges will be the collaborative and consultative relationship with the private sector…”
Within a matter of months, those high-sounding precepts appeared to have been defenestrated by the Ministry when The Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) wrote to Mr Mustapha expressing alarm at the issuing of the licences – without any notice to it or consultation - and warning that it could sink carefully crafted and costly international sustainability certification.
Three months after that letter the issuance of the trawler licences remains as fishy as ever and in the clearest sign of the unwillingness to act, the obligatory committee has been set up by the ministry to wear down the resolve of GATOSP and the public. It appears that these licences have
some higher ordination about them and for that very reason they must be canned and transparency introduced. The evasiveness and sanctimonious rhetoric must also be dropped.
At a press conference jointly hosted with the European Union on December 10th last year, President Ali was asked about the issuance of the licences. His response was that he had asked the Agriculture Ministry to furnish him with a comprehensive report on the fisheries sector. He then went on to say that the issuance of the licences was not the only troubling issue in sector and it was in light of this that he requested the report.
There are undoubtedly many things wrong in the fishing sector and every other sector for that matter but the issue at hand was the irregular issuing of the licences and this had to be addressed frontally by the President and not enveloped in other matters.
On February 9th this year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had his say on the matter. At a press conference, he declared that the PPP/C government will not contribute to “monopoly behaviour” and said he was assured by the Minister of Agriculture that the holder of the controversial trawler licences existed. Asked about the identity of the individual, Mr Jagdeo said, “This person actually met with the ministry and is not a ghost individual, it is a Guyanese.”
Mr Jagdeo also said that that while he agreed that sustainable fishing in the sector should not be jeopardised, there must be equity in the industry and everyone should be given a chance.
“We should periodically review this, it should not contribute to monopoly behaviour because a few guys have this, and they feel there should be no new entrants. One and two of those guys feel if they have a licence from government they should have it forever. It should not be, we should look at equity in this issue too… if a few big guys have everything no new person can break into the sector with one licence or two licences, you can’t have fifty licences… and a man gets two and you complaining he will destroy the sector,” Mr Jagdeo added.
Undoubtedly monopolies should be frowned upon. However that was not the issue at hand as Mr Jagdeo
attempted to portray. What was under consideration was the stealthy award of licences in contravention of an agreement among the trawler owners in 2011, the year that Mr Jagdeo last held the Presidency, and which culminated in the seeking of Marine Stewardship Council certification in 2015.
If the PPP/C government wanted to end what Mr Jagdeo described as a monopoly surely the first port of call was GATOSP so that they could be properly consulted and jointly consider undoing what had been agreed under his administration.
Following Mr Jagdeo’s intervention, the Agriculture Minister then made available to the press a statement and a photo from the properly masked holder of the two licences, Rampersaud Sookhdeo who declared that he was “not a ghost,” had been in the fisheries business for 20 years and deserved an equal opportunity as a Guyanese to operate in the sector. Mr Sookhdeo deserves as equal an opportunity as any other Guyanese who might be interested in trawling operations. The problem is that any other person who might have been interested in trawler licences was completely unaware that they were available as there was no notification to the public of this.
Furthermore, GATOSP has said it knows nothing of Mr Sookhdeo’s standing in the local trawling industry, making the award of the licences to him even more mysterious. In the interest of transparency, fairness and rectitude, the licences must be cancelled and the public advised on how they were issued and who signed these. A decision should then be taken on disciplinary action. Thereafter, consultations should be held with GATOSP and as long as sustainability stewardship is not jeopardized the stakeholders could agree to an open process for the awarding of licences.