… -as Jamaica records first case of Coronavirus

LOCAL health authorities will be looking to establish 24/7 surveillance at the various ports of entry, as the country continues to improve its capacity to guard against the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19), which has now been recorded in Jamaica.

This was according Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr. Karen Boyle, in an invited comment, on Tuesday. “Eight additional Medex have been deployed to various ports of entry to supplement the staff who were there before…we are trying to get to the point where we have 24/7 staff at each point,” said Dr. Boyle.

She said the Ministry of Public Health is working closely with immigration officers, to intensify screening of passengers who are coming from countries where there are high rates of Coronavirus transmission. Persons, who have already arrived from high-risk countries, are already being monitored by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud’s office.

Guyana is augmenting its efforts at a time when Caribbean counterpart, Jamaica has confirmed its first imported case of COVID-19, in its capital, Kingston. According to the Jamaica Observer, the patient is a Jamaican female who had travelled from the United Kingdom, which has cases of COVID-19. She arrived in the island on March 4, presented herself to the public health system on March 9, and has been in isolation since then.
Based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, health professionals suspected COVID-19. The patient’s infection was travel-related. However, Jamaican authorities said steps are being taken to prevent the risk of community spread. The New York Times reported that more than 114,000 cases of infection have been reported globally, and more than 4,000 people have died.

But the global count of at least 114,000 cases also includes more than 64,000 people who have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In China, where the virus was first detected late last year, the number of new infections continued to dwindle.
It was reported early this year that, in response to the global epidemic, Guyana has strengthened its monitoring systems at the various ports of entry and has even instituted travel restrictions on persons coming from China. According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, and has since spread to many other countries, including some in the Americas.

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, coughs, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. Some persons who recently returned to Guyana from China, were placed under “home monitoring,” but have not shown symptoms of the Coronavirus. While Guyana has remained resilient against the global outbreak, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence had said persons must be cognisant that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed the Coronavirus as “level three.” “When they speak of level three, this is the maximum level of severity,” said the minister, noting that it shows the global state of emergency.

Guyana Chronicle, in a previous report, had quoted Minister Lawrence as saying: “Let me assure the Guyanese pubic that all efforts to maintain vigilance and monitoring of the virus are in place. “We have put several measures in place and have increased surveillance at the country’s ports of entry with strengthened specialised training in all categories of workers.”
Since the outbreak, port health authorities at the main, official points of entry had commenced screening of all travellers from high-risk countries. Among the menu of measures put in place by the MoPH officials was to conduct follow-up assessments via telephone calls and through daily visits over a two-week period on all persons who travelled from China to Guyana over the last month to check on their state of health.

“While this virus started off in China, as a Region, we are flagging all high-risk countries,” Lawrence said. The public health ministry had advised Guyanese to avoid travelling to high-risk countries and maintain established hand-washing and hand-hygiene measures and to report to the nearest health facility should you experience any respiratory (breathing) problems.

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), in view of the Novel Coronavirus, had also stipulated that international vessels, calling in at the Port of Georgetown and Berbice, will be required to provide a crew list and their nationality; the vessel’s last port of call; and the shore leave of the crew within the last 21 days, to the administration.

“Ship crew who feel unwell, experience respiratory symptoms or feel feverish should inform the master of the ship immediately. The master of the ship should then contact his ship’s agent and make the necessary arrangements to seek medical attention,” said MARAD.
Crew with recent travel history in Hubei, Wuhan, or with People’s Republic of China (PRC) passports will not be allowed entry into Guyana. Also, vessels that refuse to comply with the aforementioned instructions may be denied entry into the country’s waters.

In the interim, MARAD intends to continue monitoring the evolving situation and work closely with the industry to implement additional measures if needed. Regionally, CARPHA had announced that its Medical Microbiology Laboratory (CMML) is fully equipped and ready to test samples of suspected cases of the Coronavirus. “The agency is equipped to investigate and manage communicable diseases. In the event of the suspicion of an outbreak in the region, member states have specific protocols to follow in their investigation process which includes sending the samples to CARPHA. We are prepared to receive and test samples of suspected cases of the 2019-nCoV with immediate effect,” said Executive Director of CARPHA, Dr. Joy St. John. The reference laboratory is accredited by the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) to the international standard for medical laboratories, ISO 15189:2012.