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  • Chagas disease: providing free paediatric medicine can enhance diagnosis and treatment

    Documentation resulting in the donation of an important antiparasitic medicine for the treatment of Chagas illness to the World Health Organization (WHO) is within the ultimate stage of preparation.

    A 3-year settlement, between the Mundo Sano Foundation1 (Brazil) and WHO, is anticipated to make obtainable 108 000 tablets of the paediatric formulation of benznidazole2 – a first-line medicine towards Chagas illness. Treatment3 with benznidazole within the early levels of an infection can treatment Chagas illness.

    “Making benznidazole freely obtainable for the treatment of newborns till the age of 18 might be a game-changer within the battle towards Chagas illness” mentioned Dr Mwelece Ntuli Malecela, Director, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical
    Diseases. “This is not going to solely save future generations from growing life-threatening and deadly issues however can even increase up diagnosis and treatment.”

    Each yr, an estimated 15 000 youngsters are born from contaminated moms. A freely obtainable paediatric presentation of benznidazole with correct dosage is essentially anticipated to contribute to deal with congenital infections.

    “Treating newborns and youngsters was the lacking hyperlink, as we transfer decisively to advocate for the mixing of diagnosis of an infection amongst pregnant ladies and women of child-bearing age into different surveillance programmes, together with HIV and syphilis” mentioned Dr Pedro Albajar Vinas, Medical Officer with WHO’s Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases.  “Diagnosing and treating ladies of this age group earlier than being pregnant can increase successfully stop congenital transmission.” 

    The settlement

    The donation by Mundo Sano Foundation at some point of the settlement includes benznidazole:

    • 105,000 tablets of 100mg
    • 3,000 tablets of 12.5mg

    Furthermore, the Foundation might donate funds of as much as US$100 000 at some point of the settlement to help actions related to distribution of medicines and conferences. The Foundation additionally makes provision for an extension of this settlement past
    the required length of three years.

    The illness

    Chagas illness, often known as American trypanosomiasis, is a doubtlessly life-threatening sickness brought on by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi).

    Although appreciable progress has been achieved, significantly in decreasing vector transmission and screening of blood and organ provide, reaching and diagnosing individuals most affected has been a problem.

    Currently, under-diagnosis of Chagas illness instances is as excessive as 90% and under-diagnosis of congenital transmission is believed to be even greater.

    Globally, an estimated 6-7 million individuals are contaminated with T. cruzi.

    The illness is discovered primarily in endemic areas of 21 continental Latin American international locations4. But motion of individuals to city areas and to different continents has expanded its transmission by means of non vectorial routes, akin to blood transfusion, congenital
    transmission, organ transplants and oral meals contamination.

    Considering the illness as a rising public well being drawback in lots of international locations, the World Health Assembly – WHO’s decision-making physique – determined in May 2019 to commemorate World Chagas Disease Day on 14 April.

    The inaugural celebration occurs this yr.

    1 Mundo Sano is a nonprofit worldwide basis working with the general public and personal sectors, academia, and different worldwide organizations to supply options to the affected communities and generate scientific information. In 2012, it led a public-private consortium in 2012 to provide benznidazole in Argentina.

    2 In 2017, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted benznidazole for the treatment of kids aged 2–12, making it the primary treatment accepted within the United States for Chagas illness.

    3 Nifurtimox can be 100% efficient in curing Chagas illness if given quickly after onset of an infection, together with instances of congenital an infection. It is donated by Bayer who pledged greater than 7.5 million tablets for the interval 2012-2021.

    4 Argentina, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela
    (Bolivarian Republic of).

    Chagas disease: providing free paediatric medicine can enhance diagnosis and treatment
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    https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/02-04-2020-chagas-disease-providing-free-paediatric-medicine-can-enhance-diagnosis-and-treatment

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  • WHO to continue support for Chagas disease programme that promotes patient self-care

    The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Catalan Ministry of Health say they’ll collectively support the dissemination of a programme that gives support to sufferers affected by Chagas disease to handle their very own well being and promote self-care.

    The Catalonian ‘Expert Patient Programme on Chagas disease’ includes interplay and sharing of knowledge amongst individuals affected by the disease and is performed by an knowledgeable patient. The programme is taken into account to have completed very properly because it was first initiated in 2017.

    “Over the previous few years we now have seen exceptional improve in consciousness and confidence amongst sufferers to pursue medical care and follow-up with physicians” stated Dr Pedro Albajar Vinas, who’s accountable for WHO’s Chagas disease programme. “When sufferers discuss to each other there may be higher deal with general perceptions of well being, life-style, bettering shallowness, self-care and particular person satisfaction.”

    The programme additionally encourages self-responsibility and features as a part of the Chronic Disease Prevention and Care Programme of the Government of Catalonia. It is predicated on three key approaches:

    • support supplied by sufferers and observing professionals to these in power part of the disease;
    • promote interplay in teams by 9 fastidiously deliberate periods;
    • consider efficiency of previous periods by questionnaires earlier than a brand new session begins.

    Many individuals who attended the programme over time say they might suggest it to household and associates because it vastly helps to enhance information about disease.

    Initiators of the programme are assured that the methodology used, and classes discovered can type a part of a broader technique to push for complete care for a disease that continues to be largely uncared for. For instance, regardless of the efforts of the previous decade, the worldwide detection fee for Chagas disease is lower than 10%.

    Through this settlement, WHO will present support in facilitating the interpretation of supplies and paperwork in languages utilized in its Member States in addition to help within the improvement of any mobile-based software if the necessity arises. The Government of Catalonia will print and distribute for advocacy functions.

    To promote international advocacy for the disease, the World Health Assembly – WHO’s decision-making physique – in 2019 adopted a call to have a good time World Chagas Disease Day on 14 April.

    The disease

    Chagas disease was as soon as confined to rural areas of Latin American international locations the place the primary route of transmission is vectorial transmission.

    But over the previous many years, the disease has been more and more reported in lots of international locations exterior Latin America primarily due to motion of populations and migration.

    According to WHO estimates, round 6-7 million individuals are contaminated with Trypanosoma cruzi – the protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease.

    Vectorial transmission happens when people are available in contact with the faeces or urine of triatomine bugs (referred to as ‘kissing bugs’, amongst many different native names).

    These bugs – the vectors that carry the parasites – reside within the wall or roof cracks of properties – the place they disguise in the course of the day and lively at evening after they feed on human blood. They often chew an uncovered space of pores and skin such because the face (therefore its widespread identify ‘kissing bug’).

    Right after a chew, the bug defecates/urinates shut to the chew space. The parasites enter the physique when the particular person instinctively reacts to the chew and smears the bug faeces or urine into the chew, the eyes, the mouth, or into any pores and skin break.

    The parasite may also be transmitted by:

    • consumption of meals contaminated with T. cruzi by, for instance, contact with faeces or urine of contaminated triatomine bugs or marsupials (this type of transmission sometimes causes outbreaks with extra extreme morbidity and better mortality – infecting teams of individuals concurrently with extra frequent instances of extreme disease and better variety of deaths);
    • blood or blood product transfusion from contaminated donors;
    • passage from an contaminated mom to her new child throughout being pregnant or childbirth;
    • some organ transplants utilizing organs from contaminated donors; and
    • laboratory accidents.

    There is not any vaccine in opposition to Chagas disease. Domiciliary vectorial management and transfusional management, along with congenital transmission, stay the simplest strategies of stopping transmission in Latin America.

    Chagas disease was named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, a Brazilian doctor and researcher who found the disease in 1909.

    WHO to continue support for Chagas disease programme that promotes patient self-care
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    https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-03-2020-who-to-continue-support-for-chagas-disease-programme-that-promotes-patient-self-care

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  • Legal Issues Arising From Management Of Covid-19 Patients By Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem

    Legal Issues Arising From Management Of Covid-19 Patients By Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem

    Legal Issues Arising From Management Of Covid-19 Patients By Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem 1

    Legal Issues Arising From Management Of Covid-19 Patients By Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem 2


    A lot of legal issues are bound to arise as an aftermath of the outbreak of Coronavirus otherwise referred to as COVID-19.  There is therefore a need to shed light on some of the issues that may arise and how to navigate them. This article will x-ray the rights of patients, the rights of health workers and the basic minimum obligations of the government.

    The Code of Medical Ethics in Nigeria 2008 lists acts that constitute professional negligence. Rule 29.4 of the Code outlines some of these acts as follows:-

    a)      Failure to attend promptly to a patient requiring urgent attention when the practitioner was in a position to do so;

    b)     Manifesting incompetence in the assessment of a patient;

    c)      Making an incorrect diagnosis particularly when the clinical features were so glaring that no reasonable skillful practitioner could have failed to notice them; 

    d)     Failure to advise, or proffering wrong advice to  a patient on the risk involved in a particular operation or course of treatment, especially if such an operation or course of treatment is likely to result in serious side effects like deformity or loss of organ, or function;

    e)      Failure to obtain the informed consent of the patient before proceeding on any surgical procedure or course of treatment when such consent was necessary; 

    f)       Making a mistake in treatment e.g. amputation of the wrong limb, carelessness that results in the termination of a pregnancy, prescribing the wrong drug, or dosage in error for a correctly diagnosed ailment, etc;

    g)     Failure to refer, or transfer a patient in good time, when such a referral or transfer was necessary;

    h)     Failure to do anything that ought reasonably to have been done under any circumstance for the good of the patient;

    i)       Failure to see a patient as often as his medical condition warrants or to make appropriate comments in the case notes of the practitioner’s observations and prescribed treatment during such visits. It also includes failure to communicate with the patient or with his relatives as may be necessary with regards to any developments, progress or prognosis in the patient’s condition.

     

    Rule 11.2 of the 2008 Code of Medical Ethics in Nigeria provides that, “A physician shall preserve absolute confidentiality on all he knows about his patient even after the patient has died.”

                 Rule 44 of the Code of Medical Ethics has extensive provisions on Confidentiality and when disclosure of information can be made. The Rule provides in part that:

    “Disclosure of information on the patient by the doctor can only be made following an informed consent of the patient in writing. It is clear that the ethic covers even such information as induced abortion, venereal disease, attempted suicide, concealed birth and drug dependence but would exclude situations in which a discretionary breach of confidentiality is necessary to protect the patient or the community from danger and this must be made clear to the patient at the time of the confidential disclosure. Where statutory notification of disease is involved, the consent of the patient is not required.”            

                Confidentiality: To Disclose Identity Of Covid-19 Patients Or Not To Disclose?

    COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people infected with the COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment.  Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.[1]

    The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria on the 27th of February 2020. It is the case of an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, Nigeria on the 25th of February 2020. In reaction to the report, the social was divided between those who want the name of the Italian disclosed and those that preferred it remains confidential. The outcry was even more when the Chief of Staff to the President tested positive according to reports from various media houses[2], but the Minister of Health decided to keep mute on the identity of the President’s aide who contacted the virus, citing confidentiality.

    It will ordinarily be wrong to disclose the medical status of someone infected with COVID-19, for instancethe case of the Italian who was the index case. However in view of the proviso to Rule 44 of the Code of Medical Ethics 2008 which provides that a discretionary breach of confidentiality is necessary in order to protect the community from danger, I am of the view that the test results of popular figures who hold strategic offices like the Chief of Staff to the President or a Governor must be disclosed to guaranty public safety. This is necessary in view of the countless number of people from all works of life they come in contact with on a daily basis.  It will be correct to have made their status public in the overriding interest of the public, since it will enable those who have come in contact with them isolate, just like we have seen in the cases of the British Prime Minister, the Bauchi State Govenor, Prince Charles, the First Lady of Canada and many more. We must commend those who announced their status in public themselves-it is the best thing to do in the interest of humanity

    The World Health Organization (WHO) provides additional guidelines for the management of coronavirus patients specifically.[3]

    Health workers should:

    •follow established occupational safety and health procedures, avoid exposing others to health and safety risks and participate in employer-provided occupational safety and health training; 

    •use provided protocols to assess, triage and treat patients; 

    •treat patients with respect, compassion and dignity; 

    •maintain patient confidentiality; 

    •swiftly follow established public health reporting procedures of suspect and confirmed cases; 

    •provide or reinforce accurate infection prevention and control and public health information, including to concerned people who have neither symptoms nor risk;

    •put on, use, take off and dispose of personal protective equipment properly;

    •self-monitor for signs of illness and self-isolate or report illness to managers, if it occurs; 

    •advise management if they are experiencing signs of undue stress or mental health challenges that require support interventions; and 

    •report  to  their  immediate  supervisor  any  situation  which  they  have  reasonable  justification  to  believe presents an imminent and serious danger to life or health.

     

    Doctors and health workers in Nigeria must endeavor to digest the guidelines in the Code of Medical Ethics as well as the WHO Guidelines for management of Coronavirus victims and ensure they work strictly by their provisions. A breach of these duties have dire consequences. 

    Options Available To Covid-19 Patients Who Are Victims Of Medical Negligence

    A Coronavirus patient who has suffered medical negligence has a number of options:

    1. He could file a complaint with the regulatory body (e.g. the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, in the cases involving a Doctor). The Doctor will in the first instance be investigated by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigation Panel, after which he will be tried by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. If found culpable,  the Doctor may be warned, suspended from practicing for a period not exceeding 6 months or in very serious cases, have his name can be removed from the Register of Medical Practitioners. The Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal does not award monetary damages.

    2. A suit can be filed against the Medical Doctor, the Hospital, Agency or Government in the High Court for Medical Negligence and monetary damages will be awarded if the Defendant(s) are found culpable.

          3.  If there is an element of Crime, a report could be made to the Police who would conduct Criminal Investigation and where the investigation reveals gross negligence, recklessness or wanton disregard for life of the victim, the police can prosecute or forward the case file to the office of the Attorney General of the State for possible prosecution in deserving cases.  

    A Need To Do More For Doctors And Other Professionals In The Health Sector

    Health workers are at the front line of any outbreak response and as such are exposed to hazards that put them at risk of infection with an outbreak pathogen (in this case COVID-19). Hazards include pathogen exposure, long working  hours,  psychological  distress,  fatigue,  occupational  burnout,  stigma,  and  physical  and  psychological violence. 

    During the outbreak of Ebola more than 500 health care workers died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra-Leone alone. We also lost some of our finest doctors and health workers to the disease in Nigeria, the most prominent being Dr. Stella Adadevoh, who is credited with having curbed a wider spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria by placing the index patient, Patrick Sawyer, in quarantine despite pressures from the Liberian  government. As we speak, The coronavirus is waging a war of attrition against health care workers throughout the world, but nowhere is it winning more battles at the moment than in Italy and in Spain, where protective equipment and tests have been in severely short supply for weeks. In Spain 13.6% (6500) of those affected with the coronavirus are health workers and in Italy 10% (7400) of those affected with the virus are health workers. [4] In New York dozens of health workers have been affected with the virus, while hundreds are in quarantine.[5] According to reports filtering in as the time of concluding this article, three health workers have been infected with COVID-19 in Abuja, Nigeria.[6]

    Human Rights Watch research into health system collapse in Hungary and Venezuela suggests the nations’ mismanaged, underfunded, and understaffed public healthcare system is poorly equipped to handle a COVID-19 outbreak. Patients and medical experts described a lack of basic hygiene protocol, lack of isolation rooms, and a shortage of health professionals, doctors and nurses, and medical supplies in general.

    The situation is not too different in Nigeria at the moment and except something drastic is done we might be witnessing a devastating effect of the pandemic. Nigeria’s, public health capacity has been diminished by large scale public sector corruption. Medical personnel lack surgical masks and local supplies have been diverted and shipped to other markets partly due to corruption. Many states are ill-prepared to combat the impeding surge in patients. A senior health worker with a government hospital in Abuja, in an interview with Sahara Reporters, lamented the lack of quality Personal Protective Equipment for them, adding that government must invest in the protection of health workers at the frontline of the battle against the virus. He said, “The unfortunate thing is that the government is not providing us with what to work with. It is sad that our PPE are not up to the world standard and can be penetrated by viruses. Some of us (health workers) have to use our personal funds to purchase gloves as we do not trust the ones government supplied. Nigerians should please remember us in their prayers and government should provide us with what we really need to work.” [7]

    There was report that in Bauchi State a Coronavirus patient rejected the isolation centre at the Bauchi Specialist Hospital and went back home while describing it as “too dirty”.[8]  

    It is disappointing to hear that the hazard allowance for doctors and health workers is N5,000 per month in Nigeria. The amount is very paltry compared to the risks and the attendant emotional and psychological stress suffered by the health-care workers (HWCs) particularly during monumental outbreaks like this. Unfortunately, when a patient is mismanaged, these doctors and health workers bear the burden of paying huge compensation and sometimes losing their jobs. More importantly, the brain-drain in the health sector is monumental, almost all my friends who are doctors, work abroad. Unfortunately, there are concerted efforts by the US Government to engage foreign Doctors to further fortify its health work force as COVID-19 ravages. Many young Nigerian doctors are already considering the offers because the Nigerian government has paid little attention to their welfare and the welfare of the general health workforce. To stop the exodus of our doctors, who are already in short supply, the government must act fast by improving their welfare packages in line with acceptable international standards.

    The psychological needs of doctors and health workers are also often ignored. Unsafe working conditions contribute to health worker attrition in many countries due to work-related illness and injury and the resulting fear of health workers of occupational infection, including from HIV and Tuberculosis. The 2006 World Health Report – Working Together for Health reported on a severe health workforce crisis in fifty-seven countries, most of them in Africa and Asia. [9]

    Protecting the occupational health of health workers is critical to having an adequate workforce of trained and healthy health personnel. Governments at the Federal and State levels are urged to do more by complying fully with the World Health Organization’s guidelines regarding the Rights of Health Workers while combating COVID-19. Some of the rights are:

    ·         assume overall responsibility to ensure that all necessary preventive and protective measures are taken to minimize occupational safety and health risks;

    ·         provide information, instruction and training on occupational safety and health, including; Refresher training on infection prevention and control(IPC); and Use, putting on, taking off and disposal of personal protective equipment(PPE);

    ·         provide adequate IPC and PPE supplies (masks, gloves, goggles, gowns, hand sanitizer, soap and water, cleaning supplies) in sufficient quantity to healthcare or other staff caring for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients, such that workers do not incur expenses for occupational safety and health requirements;

    ·         not be required to return to a work situation where there is continuing orserious danger to life or health, until the employer has taken any necessary remedial action;

    ·         allow workers to exercise the right to remove themselves from a work situation that they have reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger to their life or health. When a health worker exercises this right, they shall be protected from any undue consequences; 

    ·         honour the right to compensation, rehabilitation and curative services if infected with COVID-19 following exposure in the workplace. This would be considered occupational exposure and resulting illness would be considered an occupational disease,

    ·         provide access to mental health and counselling resources; and 

    ·         enable co-operation between management and workers and/or their representatives. Etc.

    In conclusion, professional care givers for COVID-19 patients should uphold four basic principles formulated by Beauchamp and Childress in their book ‘Principles of Biomedical Ethics’ in order to protect themselves from liability for negligence. The four basic principles are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice.

    Autonomy: People have the right to control what happens to their bodies. This principle simply means that an informed, competent adult patient can refuse or accept treatments, drugs, and surgeries according to their wishes. People have the right to control what happens to their bodies because they are free and rational. And these decisions must be respected by everyone, even if those decisions aren’t in the best interest of the patient.

    Beneficence: All healthcare providers must strive to improve their patient’s health, to do the most good for the patient in every situation. But what is good for one patient may not be good for another, so each situation should be considered individually. And other values that might conflict with beneficence may need to be considered.

    Non-maleficence: “First, do no harm” is the bedrock of medical ethics. In every situation, healthcare providers should avoid causing harm to their patients. You should also be aware of the doctrine of double effect, where a treatment intended for good unintentionally causes harm. This doctrine helps you make difficult decisions about whether actions with double effects can be undertaken.

    Justice: The fourth principle demands that you should try to be as fair as possible when offering treatments to patients and allocating scarce medical resources. You should be able to justify your actions in every situation. For instance, it will amount to a professional misconduct for a Health-care Worker to remove a poor man from the ventilator because a Senator was rushed in. 

    Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem is a partner in Adetola-Kazeem Legal Practice and specializes in Medical and Health Law

    Email: aadetolakazeem@gmail.com;aadetolakazeem@gaklp.com

    [1] https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1(Accessed on the 28th of March 2020)

    [2] https://businessday.ng/coronavirus/article/abba-kyari-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-buhari-negative/

    https://www.channelstv.com/2020/03/24/buharis-chief-of-staff-abba-kyari-reportedly-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/ (Accessed on the 28th of March 2020)

    [3] Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) Outbreak: Rights, Roles and Responsibilities Of Health workers, Including Key Considerations For Occupational Safety And Health”. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-rights-roles-respon-hw-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=bcabd401_0   (Accessed on the 26th of March 2020)

    [4] https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/collapsing-virus-pummels-medics-spain-italy-69789413 (Accessed on 26th March 2020)

    [5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-19-hits-doctors-nurses-emts-threatening-health-system/2020/03/17/f21147e8-67aa-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html (Accessed on 28th of March 2020)

    [6] http://saharareporters.com/2020/03/28/exclusive-two-nurses-one-doctor-infected-coronavirus-abuja-hospital

    [7] Supra

    [8] https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/coronavirus-patient-rejects-bauchi-isolation-centre-returns-home.html (Accessed on 28th March 2020)

    [9] https://www.who.int/occupational_health/topics/hcworkers/en/(Accessed on 26th March 2020)

     

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    Legal Issues Arising From Management Of Covid-19 Patients By Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem
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  • MCO: KPWKM provides SOP for NGOs to channel aid

    MCO: KPWKM provides SOP for NGOs to channel aid

    MCO: KPWKM provides SOP for NGOs to channel aid 3

    KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) has set up a guideline (SOP) to enable non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help distribute donations to those in need during the Movement Control Order (MCO).

    Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun (pix) said the ministry, through the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia (JKM), would ensure that the channeling activities were carried out in accordance with the instructions of the National Security Council (MKN) and the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.

    Sh said, in accordance with the SOP, the NGOs involved should be welfare-oriented and had to contact the State JKM Operations Room a day before making a donation.

    “Only dry and cooked items are allowed to be distributed and the members of the NGOs involved must wear face masks and gloves and have hand sanitisers during the donations,“ she said in a statement today.

    She added that members of the NGOs should be checked for body temperature, that those with symptoms should not be allowed to be involved and that the members taking part must maintain social distance.

    She said the channeling activity must be limited to two members of the NGOs and had to accompanied by members of the Malaysia Civil Defense Forces (APM) and the Malaysian Volunteer Department (RELA).

    Rina said KPWKM was grateful at the NGOs’ desire to work together to ensure a more effective distribution of donations to the people.

    She said interested NGOs could contact the State JKM Operations Room online which operated for 24 hours, – Bernama

    MCO: KPWKM provides SOP for NGOs to channel aid
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    https://www.thesundaily.my/local/mco-kpwkm-provides-sop-for-ngos-to-channel-aid-AE2204244

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  • Covid-19: Marang Prison takes precautionary measures

    Covid-19: Marang Prison takes precautionary measures

    Covid-19: Marang Prison takes precautionary measures 5

    KUALA TERENGGANU: Although a prison is relatively safe from Covid-19 as its inmates lack interaction with the outside world, the Marang Prison has taken precautions to reduce the risk of infection.

    Marang Prison director Assistant Commissioner Wan Sani Abd Latiff said screening of all personnel and visitors has been conducted and those with body temperatures exceeding 36 degrees Celsius are not allowed in.

    “All staff and visitors are also required to use hand sanitisers and face masks. The management has also prepared a rest house for officers who have completed their guard duty at hospital wards to clean themselves up before heading home,“ he told Bernama when contacted, here today.

    No Covid-19 cases have been reported at the Marang Prison, which has 2,910 inmates and 398 staff, he added.

    He said about 25 personnel from the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) unit and Terengganu Fire and Rescue Department carried out cleaning and disinfection exercises at the prison this morning.

    “As an additional precautionary measure, new prisoners will be screened outside the main entrance and those experiencing Covid-19 symptoms will undergo medical examination and be quarantined in separate rooms.

    “The prison personnel are also practising social distancing at work as advised by the Health Ministry,“ he said, adding that officers have been briefed by the prison’s health personnel on the threat posed by the virus. – Bernama

    Covid-19: Marang Prison takes precautionary measures
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    https://www.thesundaily.my/local/covid-19-marang-prison-takes-precautionary-measures-LA2200184

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  • Information sharing on COVID-19

    WHO’s focus at all times is to ensure that all areas of the globe have the information they need to manage the health of their people. In a recent interview, the WHO official who headed the joint international mission to China, did not answer a question on Taiwan’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

    The question of Taiwanese membership in WHO is up to WHO Member States, not WHO staff. However, WHO is working closely with all health authorities who are facing the current coronavirus pandemic, including Taiwanese health experts. 

    The Taiwanese caseload is low relative to population. We continue to follow developments closely. WHO is taking lessons learned from all areas, including Taiwanese health authorities, to share best practices globally.

    With respect to the COVID-19 outbreak, the WHO Secretariat works with Taiwanese health experts and authorities, following established procedures, to facilitate a fast and effective response and ensure connection and information flow.

    • There is a Taiwanese International Health Regulations Point of Contact, who receives IHR (2005) communications and has access to the Event Information Site (EIS) Platform (a password-protected database and information exchange mechanism supporting the IHR (2005)). 
    • The Taiwanese Field Epidemiology Training Program is a member of the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (also known as “TEPHINET”). WHO shares Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network alerts and requests for assistance with TEPHINET, and those messages are cascaded to the TEPHINET members.
    • Two Taiwanese public health experts participated in the Global Research and Innovation Forum organized by WHO on 11-12 February 2020, thus contributing, alongside other world scientists, including from mainland China, to critical research questions and to finding ways to work together to advance the response.

      WHO staff work around the world to respond to this pandemic with the best evidence-based guidance and operational support available for all people, based on public health needs.  Membership in WHO and status issues are decided by Member States and the rules they set at WHO’s governing body, the World Health Assembly.

      Information about COVID-19 can be found here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

       

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    https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-03-2020-information-sharing-on-covid-19

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  • Covid-19: Chow Kit market remains busy, but with close monitoring

    Covid-19: Chow Kit market remains busy, but with close monitoring

    Covid-19: Chow Kit market remains busy, but with close monitoring 8

    KUALA LUMPUR: The implementation of Movement Control Order (MCO) has not stopped people from visiting Chow Kit Wholesaler Market here although the authority has limited the number of visitors who can enter the market at a time.

    A check by Bernama found that customers start queueing up patiently lining-up in very early in the morning while monitored by the police.

    Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Mohd Fahmi Visuvanathan Abdullah said as of 10am today, about 700 visitors had already lined up to enter the market, which was allowed to operate from 6am until 1pm.

    The police divided them accordingly into groups of between 30 and 40 and gave them 20 minutes to enter the market to buy essential goods.

    “Customers need to register their names and undergo body temperature screening before they can enter the market. This is to ensure that they complied with the MCO,” he told reporters after monitoring the MCO implementation at the market today.

    He said the police also set-up a special lane for the elderlies.

    However, he regretted that some visitors did not practice one-meter social distancing or were not wearing face masks.

    Mohd Fahmi Visuvanathan also reminded the people not to visit Chow Kit Market after 1pm.

    “Action will be taken to those who refuse to comply,” he said.

    To date, no arrests have been made by the Dang Wangi District Police Headquarters in relation to MCO implementation.

    Meanwhile, several customers at the market described the entry limit as a good measure to break the Covid-19 infection chain.

    A homemaker Aminah Abdullah, 44, said the 20-minute limit to buy necessities would be sufficient if the customers made initial preparations by listing the items to be purchased.

    “I’m a regular customer in this market … so when I came to the market, I already know my way to the items I need,” she said.

    A civil servant, known as Amir, said he visited the market to buy necessities for his family.

    “I came to buy goods in large quantities for my family because I need to go to Johor afterwards. My wife and children stay in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

    A worker in a private sector, Abdullah Sidek, 44, said as the head of his family he is taking over the task of buying groceries from his wife during the MCO period.

    “I didn’t encounter problems because my wife had prepared a good list of items she needed, everything is in this market,” he said. — Bernama

    Covid-19: Chow Kit market remains busy, but with close monitoring
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    https://www.thesundaily.my/local/covid-19-chow-kit-market-remains-busy-but-with-close-monitoring-EG2190035

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