CORONAVIRUS WORRIES J’CANS
... But health minister assures public there is no confirmed case
Yesterday Jamaicans were sent into a panic mode after it was reported that there was a suspected case of the deadly coronavirus being treated at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).
This caused Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton to hold an emergency press conference, stating categorically that there was no truth to the claim.
Tufton also used the opportunity to speak about the steps being taken to prevent the virus from entering the island.
The UHWI’s Dr Carl Bruce added that the medical facility was just taking much-needed precautions.
“The patient was transferred to us from another hospital and the doctors at the emergency room evaluated this patient as we usually do. Because the patient had a history of travel to Asia – in China, specifically – the team considered to evaluate for the virus, and the patient does not meet the case definition of the coronavirus, but out of an abundance of caution, the medical team just wanted to ensure that they ruled out this,” he said.
Bruce stated that the patient was “doing well” and would be discharged when all evaluation and testing was completed.
When the news team visited the hospital, Maxine Newell had just stepped outside.
She said she knew something was wrong the moment she arrived.
She said for the past several weeks, she has been visiting her father there, but yesterday, nurses and doctors were acting in a very suspicious manner.
“The atmosphere was different. There was a change. When you walk in, you know something was happening because nurses and doctors were in masks, but they were not saying anything to anyone. I have been here on several occasions, and I came today (yesterday) to collect my father’s blood test results, and when I walked in, everything was so different. This has never happened before,” she said.
Newell told THE STAR that she is not panicking, but she believes that Tufton needs to inform the country correctly about what is happening. Tufton held his briefing afterwards.
“When a disease of this nature is here, you cannot create panic, but the minister needs to speak out. The way persons were behaving at the hospital was alarming. They were in masks and talking to themselves, but they were not saying anything to anyone,” she said.
An inside source told the news team that there was panic at the hospital yesterday and student doctors started to evacuate. Some university students said that at present, they will not be worried until there is a confirmed case.
“We know what it is and we know that it is deadly, so if they come out and say that it is here, it is going to cause widespread panic. What I think they should do is just tell people to be cautious and ensure they keep themselves safe,” a student said.
TRAVEL ADVISORY
Tufton also announced yesterday that a travel advisory would be issued for people heading to Jamaica from China, asking them to remain in the Asian country.
“Persons who are planning trip to China, whether Jamaicans or Chinese, we are advising them to postpone their trip for the time being. For persons in transit to Jamaica, our quarantine process will be put in place where persons will be quarantined in designed facilities or their home environment,” he said.
He further said that Jamaica will be heightening its vigilance at ports of entry, adding that the health ministry would be trying to reach out to all travellers who returned to the island from China in the past month.