By Chantalé Fletcher
OVER the past five weeks, Covid-19 cases have been on the rise.
Principal Medical Officer of Institutions Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards said these included an increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases and as of Wednesday, the rolling average stood at 280.
She said, “An increase in the hospitalisation numbers with 227 today and peaked at 228 yesterday, which was one of the highest numbers we have seen the general decline in May. We have also seen an increase in the Accident and Emergency departments and in the usage of the ambulance system for Covid-19.”
Speaking at the Ministry of Health virtual conference on Wednesday, Abdool-Richards added these statistics should remind people that Covid-19 was still present and personal responsibility and healthy behaviours should be practised.
She said, “At present, the overall occupancy in hospitals in the parallel health care system as of 8 am was 41%. There are 227 patients of which 215 were in the hospitals and 12 persons were at the Point Fortin Area Hospital.”
Abdool-Richards added that 15 patients were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 28 were in the Accident and Emergency department in the traditional healthcare system awaiting transfer.
She said that between July 22, 2021, and August 10, 2022, 80% of patients were not fully vaccinated, which was a reminder that all eligible persons should get vaccinated to prevent the spread of the virus and protect those vulnerable.
Abdool-Richards said, “There has been a trend in increasing ambulance usage over the past month and as of present, 20% of the GMRTT ambulance system was involved in Covid-19 transports which were from home-pickups to hospitals.”
