Advice over contact with Covid-19 patients
A LOCAL health department has issued guidance on the steps that should be taken if a person has had contact with someone who has caught the coronavirus.
Torrevieja healthcare department published a press release on the protocol on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman stated that ‘in the current epidemiological situation it is very important to detect new Covid-19 cases early to halt transmission and to identify all the contacts which that person has had’.
She explained that the health service has a tracking system in which they trace the contacts of people who have tested positive for the virus.
This is usually done from local health centres, and residents or tourists are telephoned or visited if they may have been in contact with a patient.
These people are then evaluated over a period of time by the ‘tracers’.
If they believe that a person may have caught the virus then they are told to self-isolate at home until they can be given a PCR test.
Samples from Torrevieja are sent to Alicante General hospital and results are received within 48 hours, according to the spokeswoman.
If a person has had contact with an infected person and they have not been traced by medical staff then they should call the special number for the Valencia region, which is 900 300 555 to report this – or call their local health centre.
People can also pass on information via the website coronavirus.san.gva.es
The spokeswoman reminded that the period for selfisolation for people contacted by tracers is 14 days, ‘which is the time period when they could start to show symptoms’.
Quarantine
For people who share a home, she reminded that quarantine for patients with the virus requires them to stay in one room and avoid contact with housemates or family.
If they leave the room then they should wear a face mask and wash their hands frequently.
If the people who share the home with the infected person during this period show any symptoms of the virus – in particular a cough, fever or difficulty breathing – then they should contact their doctor immediately.
The spokeswoman added that it was very important for the whole population to observe the general prevention measures to halt the spread of the virus, which are maintaining social distancing, using face masks and frequently washing their hands.