By Nelson Manneh
Health Authorities have yesterday informed this medium that one COVID-19 patient absconded from one of the treatment centres, whilst five others were newly discharged from the aforesaid centres.
Sixty got discharged at least ten days from the day they tested positive, but evaded institutional isolation.
The Gambia over the weekend recorded one new COVID-19-related death, bringing the total number of deaths since March 2020, to one hundred and fifty-three.
The decedent was a 70-year-old woman, who until her demise was admitted at a COVID-19 treatment centre.
Over the weekend, the country registered thirty-three new cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to four thousand seven hundred and ninety-two.
75% of these people tested on account of intending to travel, 19% for unknown reasons and 6% for having contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case. The median age of the new cases is 36.
This is the 274th 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 four thousand seven hundred and ninety-two confirmed cases, four thousand, two hundred and three recoveries and one hundred and fifty-three deaths.
Modou Njai the Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health said a total of one thousand and seventy-one new laboratory test results were received from the Medical Research Council and the National Public Health Lab.
Of these, he said thirty-three new samples tested positive, representing a 3.1 % positivity test rate.
“Twenty-five high-risk contacts of recently confirmed cases were identified and their follow-up began in earnest,” he said.