The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

CONTACT tracing would be a key part of healthcare work if there is a suspected, probable or confirmed case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in The Bahamas, according to a draft of the Ministry of Health's preparedness and response plan for the virus.

The plan, released yesterday, "outlines the steps required to prevent, detect, report, investigate and respond to a potential case of the disease in a coordinate and timely manner."

The Surveillance Unit would be responsible for the initial review of reports of suspected cases, with the port surveillance system in the Ministry of Health requiring medical officers to be on call and accessible 24-hours each day.

If there is a suspected case of the disease, a rapid response team would investigate and apply measures in conjunction with the office of the chief medical officer.

That team would comprise an infectious disease clinician, an epidemiologist, a surveillance nurse and an infection control officer. Among them they would conduct a thorough physical examination to rule out other possible causes of acute respiratory syndrome; ascertain the epidemiological link of the case to other case(s) and notify appropriate agencies; liaise with officials to carry out contact tracing, monitor the patient and oversee the collection and transportation of necessary samples for laboratory investigations.

People with suspected cases of the disease would be issued surgical masks and triaged immediately to designated examination rooms or wards where their clinical, travel and contact history records would be obtained. They would be required to provide nasopharyngeal swabs, serum sample and urine sample to rule out the coronavirus or the flu.

If a suspected, probable or confirmed case of the coronavirus emerges, those that could expect to be contacted are people living in the same house as the person with the case since the onset of the illness; those who visited the patient either at home or in the health facility; a baby who has been breastfed by a case; and all the places and people visited by the patient since the onset of the illness, including churches and relatives.

The contacts would be listed, called and informed of the importance of calling the Surveillance Unit at the first sign of any symptom of the virus.

Non-essential travel of contacts would be discouraged and they would be expected to remain available to health authorities, notifying them of their location changes.

People who have been in contact with those suspected of having the virus would be given advice on respiratory hygiene, avoidance of crowded areas and public transportation and the need to remain home until well.

Those with probable cases would be hospitalized under isolation or in conjunction with other cases.

There are no confirmed or suspected cases of the new coronavirus in the country, officials have said. At last report, 10 people were under quarantine after travelling to China in the past 20 days.