'Not enough respirators for a severe outbreak'

As of Monday, March 16, 2020

Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan.

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

IT IS “highly unlikely” The Bahamas will have enough respirators to handle a severe outbreak of the novel coronavirus and Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan is warning people to take preventative actions now to avoid spread of the disease.

Health officials recommend social distancing, good hygiene and frequent hand washing.

“There is a global shortage (of respirators),” she said at a press conference yesterday. “I don’t know if any of the countries that acquired the enhanced capacity actually had it in country. It’s highly unlikely that we would have all of (what’s necessary) if we have a full outbreak with a huge number of persons, hence I’m saying to you and saying to the public, we need to adopt the preventive measures, the social distancing. If you are sick, stay home. It’s critical and we still have the opportunity to do that. We want to decrease the likelihood of having that kind of scenario (where there is a major outbreak).”

Even developed countries like Italy have been burdened under the strain of dealing with severe outbreaks of COVID-19, with Italy lacking enough key medical resources to take care of all the sick.

Dr Nikkiah Forbes, director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, said testing is the only thing that can confirm a case of the novel coronavirus because its symptoms overlap with the flu and cold.

People with flu-like symptoms must stay home, she said.

“If you are having flu-like symptoms, they’re very common and we are in flu and cold season,” Dr Forbes said. “If you are having runny nose, joint pain, cough and fever, please do not flood the hospitals and community settings, clinics or doctors’ offices because cold and flu are common, we usually do not go to the hospital for that.

“At this time there is influenza and cold but there is also this circulating virus that is easily spread within close contact. If you have flu-like symptoms, stay at home, do not go to work, self-isolate yourself, find a room in your home away from your family that you can rest and take symptomatic relief, fluids, fever reducers, cough reducers. If you are worsening and think that you need medical attention, please call ahead to your doctor’s office and speak to them via the telephone or call the COVID hotline…so that you can get further advice. That’s very important.”

The Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 hotlines are: 376-9350, 376-9387 and 376-9357. Doctors Hospital has also launched a COVID-19 hotline: 357-5708.

joeblow 4 years, 9 months ago

It is sad that even though this virus has been publicized since December 2019, those in this country who are responsible for plotting the course for an appropriate response seem to still be making things up on the fly! They seem oblivious about the process of planning for worse case scenarios and implementing a plan. We need a little bit more than just "stay at home". God knows this country deserves better!

TalRussell 4 years, 9 months ago

There was no global shortage back in December 2019 that would have prevented Colony's ministry of health from upping their inventory of respirators. Yeah, no?
Comrade Sister Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl, can I asks, why did you stop short of telling how many respirators does hospital and clinics need to have on hand - and how many operational respirators, does they actually have at the ready for patient care? Me's hearing that less than 10 at the ready is the accurate number?

Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 9 months ago

McMillan and Sands don't seem to be on the same page. There's an article in today's Tribune in which Sands is essentially dishing out more "Don't worry, be happy" poppycock to the public.

Sands's continues to absurdly attempt to extrapolate Wuhan, Red China's experience with Covid-19 to the Bahamas. In doing so he ignores umpteen differing variables of great significance, not least of which is the ruthless Xi-led communist regime's propensity for not telling the truth about most things to the rest of the world.

It is therefore foolish and reckless for Sands, as a medical doctor, to suggest the spread of Covid-19 in the Bahamas will only result in at most 20 critically-ill cases and even fewer deaths. The public needs to remember that Sands is the same doctor who still maintains that Hurricane Dorian only claimed a total of 60 lives.

Is McMillan telling us we don't even have 20 ventilators in our country today with trained technicians capable of operating them? If that's so, I fear many elderly Bahamians with pre-existing medical conditions may die in the coming months from a conveniently diagnosed case of influenza with severe pneumonia complications rather than Covid-19. That would certainly help contain the death toll from Covid-19.

BahamaPundit 4 years, 9 months ago

It's time for us to make good on our friendship with China and have them send test kits and respirators right away. The Bahamas has been playing games. It needs to wake up. Just look at Italy. Without rapid testing as in South Korea (TTT Trace, Test, Treat) and a surplus of respirators, things turn sideways quick with this virus. The strategy should be to test 500 Bahamians a day and isolate them. China is sending test kits and respirators to the Philippines, and the Bahamas should ask to join the queue. We've already lost serious ground. No time to play cute with privacy. The names of infected people should be released to the public, so their contacts can be traced and quarantined. The Government may be covering up that its 14 day quarantine of Bahamians returning from China failed and let the virus in (faulty test kits & virus can stay dormant and untraceable for 24 days). There is no room or time for a cover up. Complete transparency is required.

TalRussell 4 years, 9 months ago

Comrade BahamaPundit, I known where we can find $1.2 million of which I does believe be sufficient currency for the purchase of a whole 40' container of much needed respirators and face masks.
If I be not mistaken, it was back in the month of January of the year of 2019 - that the People's Republic of China, donated $1.2 million as a gift to we Colony of out Islands and Cays - a gift of Riot Gears consisting of among other Crowd Control War-likes Stuff - Grenades, Full Body Shields, Face Shields, etc, etc.
Now, the catch would be to enlist our own Comrade Senior Chief Medical Officer Sister Pearl to make contact through China's Ambassador to the Colony Comrade Huang, for His Excellency to arrange a swap back of sorts - for his government to take back - all that unused still in its unopened cartons filled with Riot Gears that hey donated to we government back in 2019. - in exchange some much more urgently needed respirators and face masks? Yeah, no?
And, guess what, I does know where we can find a 40' shipping container for shipping back to China be loaded up with medical stuff. All we need to do is get the Colony's prime minister, and his "acting health minister, to bury the 60 dead bodies stored in a trailer - left parked in some undisclosed parking lot?

tetelestai 4 years, 9 months ago

Under no circumstances should the names of the infected be released to the public. Utter silly garbage. Firstly, that would cause all kinds of lawsuits - health matters are private (ever wonder why we don't have a list of the HIV-positive, for instance?) Secondly, that would only lead to ass hysteria. Just look at the nonsense on these comment boards about the virus as evidence of that...and you now want to exponentially increase the panic by publicly revealing the infected? SMDH. Mr. McCarthy would like a word with you, sir.

BahamaPundit 4 years, 9 months ago

Cuba is sending twenty-one specialist nurses to Jamaica (March 14) and hundreds to other Caribbean nations and have developed one of the leading treatments for Covid 19 used in China and now Italy. The Bahamas must act now to retain Cuban nurses before they are all taken.

Porcupine 4 years, 9 months ago

How many respirators? It must be an easily attainable number, yes/no?

Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 9 months ago

6 functioning ones in the whole country with three or four of them already in use at any given time.

killemwitdakno 4 years, 9 months ago

omg

I don't want to ask about the ventilators.

Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 9 months ago

I assumed Porcupine was referring to ventilators.....most Bahamians are using the terms respirators and ventilators inter-changeably but you're right, they are different. Ventilators are highly sophisticated pieces of equipment that require a properly trained technician to operate properly and safely.