By Nelson Manneh
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 seventy-eight (178).
The country also registered four new cases taking the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to five thousand, nine hundred and seventy-five. The median age of the cases is 37.5 years.
This is the 318th 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 fifty-one active cases.
Modou Njai, the Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health, said a total of two hundred and ninety-six new laboratory test results were received from the National Public Health Lab and the Medical Research Council.
Of these, four new samples tested positive, representing a 1.4% positivity rest rate. He said no COVID-19 patient was newly discharged from treatment centres, while 8 got discharged at least 10 days from the day they tested positive but evaded institutional isolation.
Njai said four COVID-19 patients are currently on oxygen therapy.
“Twenty-six thousand, five hundred and ninety-six (26,593) are already vaccinated against COVID-19 as of 18th May 2021,” said Njai.