GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFP) — A woman who tested positive for the coronavirus in Guyana after arriving from the United States a week ago has died, health officials in the South American country announced Thursday.

The 52-year-old Guyanese woman, who travelled from New York, died on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Karen Gordon-Boyle said.

The woman’s family has been quarantined and efforts were underway to trace passengers who travelled on the same flight.

“All of that is being done now, all the contact tracing,” Gordon-Boyle told AFP.

Family members and others who had come into contact with the woman were being subjected to “house quarantine,” the health official said.

President David Granger late Wednesday advised against public gatherings and non-essential travel in and from the country, located on the northeastern corner of South America with a population of just 750,000.

Security forces will step up patrols at border crossings with neighbours Suriname, Brazil and Venezuela, he said.