Hospital staff protective clothing
The three patients recovering from COVID-19 at Mater Dei Hospital are in stable condition, health officials said yesterday, while the man who became the fourth person to be infected was in good condition.
The health authorities said yesterday morning that no new cases had been reported apart from the three people infected last week – a 12-year-old Italian girl and her parents – but the fourth case was confirmed last night. The man, who is also Italian and lives in Malta, had recently travelled to northern Italy.
The family who was diagnosed with Coronavirus on Saturday has been described as “exemplary” by Superintendent for Public Health Charmaine Gauci, and health officials again praised the family for their responsibility, saying that the fact that they had followed all guidelines themselves meant that they did not spread the virus to others.
Barbara said that all those who had been in contact with the family had also tested negative for the virus. Officials explained that they have received over 13,000 telephone calls on the new 111 helpline since it was set up.
A nurse demonstrated the use of the personal protective equipment (PPE) being used at Mater Dei. The equipment is made up of a fluid resistant gown, gloves, a face mask, a cap, and a visor. Officials said that the most important areas to protect are the eyes, nose, and mouth, noting that the virus spreads through respiratory ejections such as sneezes.
They noted that these are the recommendations put in place by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC).
The nurse present at the press conference also demonstrated the procedure being followed to safely remove the equipment, along with proper hand washing technique. They said that there is no one- size-fits-all solution for equipment and explained that Malta had looked to countries which had not seen their healthcare workers infected.
The cardinal example of this is Hong Kong, where, despite a large number of cases, there have been no health workers diagnosed with the virus.
The PPE being used in Malta is identical to that used in Hong Kong, they said, before noting that an aircraft with new supplies would be flying to Malta later in the day. This comes directly after the president of the Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses (MUMN), Paul Pace, called for 360-degree coveralls for its members. He also noted that nurses were still lacking in training.
The MUMN issued directives to their members yesterday, instructing them – among other things – not to treat coronavirus patients before such coveralls are provided.
Addressing these concerns, however, Professor Michael Borg, the head of the Infectious Diseases Unit, said that such coveralls were burdensome and not required to deal with the epidemic, namely due to the manner in which the virus is transmitted.