HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Guam’s 151st Covid-19-related fatality occurred at Guam Regional Medical City at approximately 8:36 a.m. Thursday, the Joint Information Center reported Friday evening.
The patient was an 85-year-old woman who was unvaccinated, the information center stated.
“Today, it saddens me to share that Guam has lost another soul to Covid-19. Josh, Jeff, and I send our deepest condolences to her family and friends,” said Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero. “Now is not the time to throw in the towel, now is the time to stand up and protect those we love. Help stop the spread of Covid-19 by doing your part – wear your mask, wash your hands, watch your distance, and get vaccinated.”
The day prior, Guam’s 150th Covid-19-related death was confirmed. He was a 75-year-old man who was unvaccinated.
The number of hospitalizations continues to rise. From the hospitalization patient count of 45, just the day before, Friday’s total was 51.
Thirty-one of the patients were unvaccinated.
Guam Memorial Hospital had to install a medical tent, or temporary hospital, to accommodate more patients.
There were seven Covid-19 patients in the BluMed medical tent outside the hospital’s emergency room, said GMH Administrator Lillian Perez-Posadas.
Some of the patients who were not severely ill were moved from the main hospital facility to the Skilled Nursing Unit in Barrigada.
The hospital had about 161 acute care beds as of last year, according to an audit report.
GMH held 26 Covid-19 patients on Friday, GRMC had 22, and Naval Hospital Guam three.
Nine patients were in intensive care units, with the majority of them — six — at GRMC. One patient is on a ventilator at the Navy hospital.
Case numbers soar, risk score climbs
The Department of Public Health and Social Services reported 197 positive results for Covid-19 out of 1,548 tests performed on Thursday.
Eighty-two cases were identified through contact tracing. There have been a total of 11,106 officially reported cases of Covid-19 on Guam.
Guam’s Covid-19 Area Risk Score climbed to 46.8. The safe threshold established by the government of Guam is 2.5.
A month ago, Guam had six Covid-19 cases in a day, no one was reported hospitalized for Covid-19, and the risk score was 3.0.
The Guam National Guard was assembling a medical tent at the Guam Memorial Hospital emergency room entrance Wednesday in Tamuning. The tent, equipped with negative pressure, now houses several Covid-19 patients.