Patient’s death amid worrying secrecy at West Dem. Hospital causes concern

Mar 28, 2020 News

– Man said to have attended first coronavirus victim’s wake

A death which occurred at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) on Thursday night has become the source of concern for staffers attached to the institution.
Staff members who spoke to Kaieteur News on condition of anonymity related that a male individual of East Indian descent came into the hospital at 8:00 pm on Thursday, complaining of respiratory problems.
He died shortly after and his body was transported to a funeral parlour.
“The patient came in, and we were concerned, but we were afraid to incubate him. He didn’t last long before he passed.”
According to the staffers, the death is cause for concern, given the concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
Further reports reaching this newspaper indicated that staff members who arrived for work yesterday morning were told that they could not enter the premises
Others, after hearing word of the death, expressed worry that the hospital is ill-equipped to deal with any such case, as the personal protective gear for staffers is lacking.
They told this newspaper that the body of the man was taken to a funeral parlour, and there was secrecy about his particulars.
“Neither his identity – his name – nor his address was provided. It is being kept under wraps; it was not even given to the funeral home,” the concerned source added.
Meanwhile, an Official attached the Public Health Ministry noted that an investigation has been launched into the death.
The official said that a team from the Ministry has been meeting with the Region Three’s Health Officials
“What we are told so far is that the individual is said to have attended a wake of patient zero Ratna Babolall —Guyana‘s first coronavirus victim. However, we have not been able to confirm anything,” the health official cautioned.
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence in her daily update on efforts to tackle the virus, said the number of positive cases in Guyana remains at 5 with 1 death.
The total number of persons tested moved from 26 to 39. Of the 5 persons who have tested positive, 3 would have been imported cases and 2 local.
“Let me clarify on the difference between imported cases and local cases. Imported cases refer to those persons who became infected and travelled to Guyana. On the other hand, local cases are those persons who were infected in Guyana.”
The Minister said too that there are a number of persons quarantined by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
“Under institutional quarantine, the number of persons remains at 31, while those on home quarantine remains at 135. At present, our surveillance team is monitoring another 14 persons. Four persons remain in institutional isolation by MoPH.”
Additionally, she said that psychosocial support continues as planned, for those persons who need these services.
“With regard to our capacity to respond, we currently have 4 facilities ready to provide services for 350 persons while our regions have already begun to identify and prepare quarantine facilities.
As of yesterday, calls to the COVID-19 hotline moved from 696 to 773 calls; these calls were received from 9 of the 10 administrative regions.
“I am happy to announce that the Ministry of Public Health has received an additional 1,100 Test Kits from PAHO/WHO, bringing the total number of donated kits to 1,800.
We have also received 14 ventilators from our suppliers to boost the capacity of level three,” Lawrence added.

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Patient’s death amid worrying secrecy at West Dem. Hospital causes concern

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