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
ALCOHOLBASED SANITISER
6085% 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