Guam's Covid-19 death toll has risen to 141 following the death of a 72-year-old woman, who was unvaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
According to the Joint Information Center, the patient was pronounced dead on arrival at the Guam Memorial Hospital around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2021. She tested positive on June 26.
“Today, our grief continues. As we work towards rebuilding Guam, we are reminded that the Covid-19 virus remains a threat to our community, most especially those who have yet to get vaccinated. To those who loved her, Jeff, Josh, and I offer our deepest condolences and sympathies,” said Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.
“While we are so close to achieving Operation Liberate Guam, our local initiative to vaccinate 80 percent of our adult population, the work cannot stop there. We will continue our aggressive campaign until everyone eligible receives the protection the vaccine provides.”
On July 8, the Department of Public Health and Social Services received 12 new results from virus samples collected on Guam, which have undergone genome sequencing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Virus samples were collected between May 13 and 28.
DPHSS received the sixth set of results from the CDC on July 8. Twelve of 19 samples received were identified with the B.1.1.7 or the Alpha Variant of Concern (VOC).
Of the 12 cases identified with VOCs, none reported any known travel history. Four cases did not meet the age eligibility for Covid-19 vaccination, seven cases had never been vaccinated, while one reported receiving the first dose of a two-dose series of the Covid-19 vaccine. All 12 cases recovered from infection between May 24 and June 8.
To date, 158 SARS-CoV-2 virus samples have been submitted to the CDC for genome sequencing and identified a total of 63 Covid-19 cases infected with VOCs.
DPHSS previously reported VOCs from results from the CDC and identified the following:
38 cases identified with the B.1.1.7 Alpha variant
eight cases identified with the B.1.429 Epsilon variant
three cases identified with the B.1.351 Beta variant
one case identified with the B.1.617.2 Delta variant
one case identified with the P.1 Gamma variant
Current results do not provide any evidence of the other Variants of Concern on Guam (B.1.427--a California Variant of Concern). DPHSS continues to send samples to the CDC for genome sequencing.