The Guyana Government has received results from the samples which were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to determine if the Covid-19 virus variant is in the country.
Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony revealed today that the results showed no signs of the virus variant in Guyana.
“Last night, CARPHA informed us that the ten samples that we sent to them, that they’ve been able to complete the gene sequencing and they haven’t found any of the new variants that are currently talked about,” the Minister said, referring to the variants detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil.
Notwithstanding, the Health Minister indicated that officials will continue to send samples for testing.
The BBC reported that it is suspected that the UK, South Africa and Brazil variants could be much more contagious or easy to catch than earlier versions.
Dr Anthony had previously posited that, if this proves to be true, it could pose a very challenging situation for the local healthcare system.
“If this is more transmissible, then more people are going to get infected,” he highlighted, noting that if this happens, it will put a strain on the hospitals in the country.
“These are going to be the challenges if this variant circulates in our country,” Dr Anthony said.
Meanwhile, Guyana today administered its first round of Covid-19 vaccines to its frontline healthcare workers.
