The nation sank deeper into the grip of the covid19 pandemic on Wednesday as the Ministry of Health reported 11 more people dead from the virus (a new daily high) and a whopping 615 more infected over a previous five-day period from Friday last to Tuesday May 11.

This reflects the worst daily report of both deaths and new infections since records of the pandemic began last year March. It eclipsed the previous grim record, last Sunday of nine deaths reported in a day, plus last Saturday’s hitherto record rate of infections of 402 people.

Among the recently deceased were sisters Georgette Rawlins and Karen Rawlins, the former an employee of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine whose staff, students and alumni mourned her passing.

So far this month as of May 12, some 66 people have died of covid19, with 3,593 people getting infected.

The ministry’s website gave additional information on the latest victims which showed a continuation of the trend of deaths among not only the elderly but an almost equal number of individuals who were middle-aged (45-65) and young. Six victims were elderly, while five were not.

In fact, one victim was a young woman with no pre-existing comorbidities that could have made her more vulnerable to the virus.

The ministry said, “The persons were three elderly males, three elderly females, two middle aged males and one middle aged female, all with co-morbidities.” The other victims were “one middle aged female and one young adult female without comorbidities.”

66 DEATHS IN MAY...SO FAR

Since last year March up to Wednesday, some 235 people have died of covid19, with 66 deaths being recorded in the first 12 days of May alone.

The total number of people infected is 14,417, of whom 9,594 have recovered. Some 343 patients are now in hospital. Some 82 people are in step-down facilities, 439 are in State quarantine facilities and 3,548 are at home in self-isolation.

The dashboard said some 148,770 people have been tested for the virus, including 69,456 people at private facilities. So far some 60,585 people have been vaccinated, with 1,179 being fully inoculated with a second dose of vaccine.

The dashboard was accompanied by a statement explaining the latest high rate, saying some of the infections reported on Wednesday could have been carry-overs from the weekend which were not reported on Monday when only 99 new infections were reported.

“The 615 positive cases reported today, Wednesday 12th May, 2021, reflects samples taken during a five day period ( Friday 7th May, 2021 to Tuesday 11th May, 2021) and not the last 24 hours.

“While the normal reporting time frame covers samples taken within 2-3 days, the substantial increase in the positive cases, and the resulting number of samples collected and processed at testing sites throughout the country, has affected the reporting time line in this instance.”

The ministry said the 99 cases reported on Monday may have been due to the normal weekend closure of some testing sites and some health facilities where