15 children died of COVID-19 in Guyana: Health Minister

The government of Guyana on Monday released the data related to coronavirus deaths in the country.

Wednesday, 19th January 2022

The government of Guyana on Monday released the data related to coronavirus deaths in the country. As per statistics, around 15 children lost their lives to the pandemic in the country. The data shows mortalities since the first case was registered in March 2020. Overall, in total, 19,05 people have died 51, 203 people have been infected with the virus in Guyana. Dr Frank Anthony, the Minister of Health, told reporters at the daily COVID Update briefing that the majority of individuals who died had a variety of comorbidities. He did not mention the age group of the kids. "We're still keeping an eye on things and trying to figure out what's causing the deaths. We know for sure some of the comorbidities and issues that some of those children who would have been hospitalised had because some of them had a bad prognosis with their underlying conditions and then they developed COVID, which exacerbated the matter," Dr Anthony said. Four children have died as a result of the virus in the last few days, according to the Health Minister, and the Ministry of Public Health is currently investigating those deaths. "We have observed the four fatalities of children in the last few days, and this is something we will look into further," Dr Anthony added. "Three of the four children arrived at the hospital, and they were dead before they reached the hospital." "Within the ministry, we have a small committee of doctors who will obtain those records and analyse them more completely, as well as to conduct interviews with the families of these children, in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of what is going on." Meanwhile, Dr Anthony has apologised to the family of a four-year-old kid who died in Mabaruma, Region One, as a result of COVID-19. Last week, photographs of the child's father carrying his body to the cemetery went viral on social media, drawing attention to the case. "This isn't how things are done around here... Once the child, or anyone else, is confirmed dead, they are sent to the mortuary, where the body is officially handed over to the family, which happened in this case. Someone should have assisted the family in taking the body to the cemetery or burial place because there is a van that runs between the police and the Ministry of Health," added the Health Minister. Furthermore, he added that there was a misunderstanding between the ministry's personnel and the police, and as a result, this did not happen in a timely manner. "They didn't obtain the car in a timely manner, and the family allegedly went ahead and buried the child," Dr Anthony said. He called the event "unfortunate" and directed that the Regional Health Officer look into it further.