By Nelson Manneh
The Gambia has on Tuesday 20th July 2021 registered seven (7) new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths since March 2020 to one hundred and ninety-seven (197).
The decedents were five males and two females with ages ranging from 32-96 years. They all died while on admission at a COVID 19 treatment centres.
On the same day, the country also registered two hundred and forty-one new cases taking the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to seven thousand, one hundred and sixty-one.
The cases are 148 males and 92 females with a median age of 35 years (Range: less than 1 – 87years).
This is the 344th national situation report since the confirmation of the first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in The Gambia, on the 16th March 2020. Currently, the Gambia has no one in hotel quarantine, but has eight hundred and eighty-four (884) active cases.
Modou Njai, the Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health, said seven hundred and six new laboratory test results were received from the Medical Research Council and the National Public Health Lab.
Of these, two hundred and forty-one (241) tested positive, representing a 34.1 % positivity test rate.
Forty-five (45) new COVID-19 patients were newly discharged from treatment centres, while 20 got discharged at least 10 days from the day they tested positive, but evaded institutional isolation.
Twenty (24) COVID-19 patients are currently on oxygen therapy and no new contacts were traced.