Former paramedic succumbs to COVID19confirmed cases jump to 12

Guyana has lost one another of its citizens to the dreaded novel coronovirus. Jermain Humphrey, a 38yearold former Emergency Medical Technician, died early Tuesday morning in the Hospital’s Intensive care Unit (ICU).

He was one of the two Coronavirus patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Humphrey, who has a baby son, is now the second Guyanese to have succumbed to the COVID19 virus. Kaieteur News understands that a female relative of Humphrey’s is also being tested after displaying symptoms. It is unclear when and where Humphrey came into contact with an infected individual, since he was reportedly no longer employed as an emergency medical technician when he fell ill.

He had reportedly worked up to four years ago at the GPHC. Humphrey’s death came with the grim news that the number of confirmed cases here have jumped from eight to twelve in a mere 24 hours. Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Karen Boyle confirmed Humphrey’s death during the Health Ministry’s daily COVID19 update streamed live on the National Communications Network. Humphrey’s case is said to have been locally transmitted. The statistics have been updated to ten cases in Region Four, one in Region Three and one in Region Six. Kaieteur News also understands that one of Humphrey’s relatives is among the twelve confirmed cases. In her update, the DCMO also reported that the total number of persons tested for COVID19 is now at 52.

“Thirty nine have been tested negative and there is still one probable case.” Along with that, 43 persons are in institutional quarantine. Boyle also stated that one person remains in the COVID19 Intensive Care Unit. She also reported that calls to the COVID19 hotline moved from 998 to 1065 from seven of the 10 regions. Using the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) model, Guyana is expected to confirm 1,400 cases of the Coronavirus. In preparation for this, the Ministry of Health has allocated 100 requiring ICU, 300 isolation beds across the country along with the capacity for 730 beds for institutional quarantine. Guyana had confirmed its first imported case of the novel Coronavirus in Georgetown on Wednesday, March 11, 2020.

(Kaieteur News)