By Nelson Manneh
The Gambia has on Friday 26th March 2021 registered two new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths registered since March 2020, to one hundred and sixty-three.
The decedents were males, 33 and 73 years old. Both were admitted and confirmed COVID-19 cases, hypertensive with severe pneumonia.
The country on the same day recorded sixty-two new cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to five thousand three hundred and sixty-five.
30% of these tested for reasons of travelling, 49% being ill seeking health attention due to suspicion of COVID-19, 15% routine respiratory disease surveillance systems and 4% contacted a case. The median age of the new cases is 39.
This is the 285th national situation report since the confirmation of the first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in The Gambia, on the 16th March 2020. The Gambia currently has no one in hotel quarantine, but has two hundred and twelve active cases.
Modou Njai, the Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health, said a total of seven hundred and six new laboratory test results were received from the Medical Research Council and the National Public Health Lab.
Of these, Director Njai said sixty-two new samples tested positive, representing 8.8 % positivity test rate.
“Sixty-seven high-risk contacts of recently confirmed cases were identified. Four COVID-19 patients were newly discharged from treatment centres, while 60 got discharged at least 10 days from the day they tested positive but evaded institutional isolation,” he said.
He said four COVID-19 patients are currently on oxygen therapy.
