By Nelson Manneh
The Gambia has registered a new death of COVID-19, bringing the total number of known COVID-19 related deaths in the country to three (3).
The deceased is a senior Nurse working at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul.
In addition to having had an underlying health condition – a known diabetic – he also had severe pneumonia-like symptoms.
A sample of the deceased was only collected from him after his demise on the 4th July 2020 and a positive test result returned on 5th July 2020.
Four (4) new cases of COVID-19 were on Tuesday the 6th of July 2020 registered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to sixty-one (61).
The country currently has three hundred and forty-one (341) people in quarantine; thirty-one (31) active, three (3) and eight 8 probable cases.
Cases 058 and 059 are a Belgian couple, both 64, they were immediately taken into quarantine upon their arrival, by an SN Brussels flight, on the 22nd June.
They were both tested negative for COVID-19 at the commencement of their quarantine period.
Their second samples were collected on July 4th and tested positive for COVID-19 on 5th July 2020.
Case 060 is a UN staff of Gambian nationality, 45, who recently returned from Liberia by a WFP-chartered A’Sky flight.
She was immediately taken into quarantine when she arrived into the country on July 1st 2020.
Case 061 is a senior nurse who works at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul.
He is a known diabetic and he also had severe pneumonia-like symptoms.
A sample was only collected from him after his demise on the 4th of July and a positive test result returned on 5th July 2020.
Mr Modou Njai the Director of Health Education and Promotion at the Ministry of Health said one of the new cases is a UN staff of Gambian nationality who recently returned from Liberia by an A’Sky flight, the remaining 2 are a Belgian couple who came by an SN Brussels flight
“Out of the 179 laboratory test results received, 50 are new and 129 are repeats . In addition to the positive test results, 3 test results returned inconclusive (probable),”he said.
Njai said 9 persons were recently taken into quarantine, 132 new people have been discharged.
He said the newly quarantined recently came into the country from locations with ongoing local transmission.
Senegal recorded seven thousand four hundred (7,400) confirmed cases in which four thousand eight hundred and seventy (4,870) recovered and one hundred thirty-three (133) died.
