By Nelson Manneh
The Gambia has on Tuesday 5th January 2021 recorded one more COVID-19 related death, bringing the total number of deaths recorded to one hundred and twenty-five.
The deceased was a 75-year-old man who sought to be tested – a day prior to his demise – on account of being sick with flu-like symptoms.
On the same day, the country registered four new cases of the deadly coronavirus, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to three thousand eight hundred and six. The median age of the new cases is 69. All but 1 of the newly confirmed cases is epi-linked to the deceased case.
This is the 237th national situation report since the confirmation of the first case of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in The Gambia, on the 16th March 2020. The country Gambia has fifteen people in quarantine and four active cases.
Modou Njai the Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health said five hundred and seventy new laboratory test results were received from the National Public Health Lab.
Of these, he said four new samples tested positive, representing a positivity test rate of 0.7%. While 43 high-risk contacts of recently confirmed cases have been identified and their follow-up began in earnest, 2 have completed their 14-day follow-up period.
“Eight new patients recovered and got discharged, twelve people were newly taken into quarantine and ten were discharged,” he said.