Bonitas Member Magazine Issue 1. 2020 | Page 30

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS DISEASE Now referred to as COVID-2019 THE ORIGIN It is speculated that the novel coronavirus originated from a Seafood Wholesale Market – that also sold live wild animals – in Wuhan City, China. The current strain is a zoonotic virus, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans. The virus is also contagious between people. THE INCUBATION PERIOD Symptoms of COVID-2019 may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS PREVENTION Reported illnesses have ranged from people with little to no symptoms, to people being severely ill. Symptoms may include: AVOID CLOSE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE SICK OR SHOW SYMPTOMS OF THE VIRUS Fever Coughing WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN WITH SOAP AND WATER OR ALCOHOLBASED SANITISER 6085% ALCOHOL AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE, AND MOUTH WITH UNWASHED HANDS Shortness of breath STAY AT HOME WHEN YOU ARE SICK Severe respiratory illness PRACTICE COUGH ETIQUETTE, COVERING YOUR COUGH OR SNEEZE CLEAN AND DISINFECT FREQUENTLY TOUCHED OBJECTS AND SURFACES Multiple organ failure PREPAREDNESS At Bonitas we are monitoring the situation and urge our members to keep on taking the necessary precautions to minimise their risk of contracting the disease. We have established hospital preparedness with all the big hospital groups having a detailed plan or checklist on how to deal with the risks and with suspected cases. A few smaller hospitals which do not have isolation or quarantine wards have implemented plans to safely transfer suspected cases to facilities which can cope with these patients. The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) are busy hosting training on laboratory diagnostics in 17 member states in the Africa region. We engaged with the General Practitioner Association to establish their preparedness and made them aware of the NICD hotline to report possible cases. THE LATEST STATS ONE CASE HAS BEEN REPORTED IN EGYPT, BUT THE PATIENT HAS BEEN QUARANTINED. AS AT 10/3/2020 THE VIRUS HAS AFFECTED 115 COUNTRIES/AREAS AROUND THE WORLD 114 573 CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THE MAJORITY IN CHINA 4 029 DEATHS HAVE BEEN REPORTED THERE HAVE BEEN 64 273 COMPLETE RECOVERIES If you need to report a suspected case of the Coronavirus, call 011 386 2000. Page 29 THUS FAR 7 CASES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED IN SOUTH AFRICA