Preventive Measures Upgrade to Address Coronavirus in KAMC-R
In regards to the cases of MERS-Coronavirus at King Abdulaziz Medical City –Riyadh, the Executive Director of Infection Prevention and Control Department at MNG-HA, a member of the National Scientific Committee of Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health Dr. Hanan Balkhi, stated that since June 2015 to August 14th, 2015, 31 positive cases have been reported of patients who visited the ER in addition to 4 positive cases of health practitioners. A number of suspected cases have been reported in the last 24 hours as well, which are now subject to extensive clinical and laboratory tests.
In addition, the number of confirmed MERS-Coronavirus deaths are 12 cases by the latest statistics, given that this type of respiratory virus is most deadly to those who suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure and kidney failure.
Dr. Hanan Balkhi also pointed out that the confirmed cases amongst health workers were discovered through the conducting an epidemiological investigation, who are now subject to Home Care Quarantine, and no record of death cases have been reported.
Furthermore, Dr. Hanan explained that in view of the latest developments about the increasing number of cases of MERS-Coronavirus, and due to the around the clock large numbers of patients in the ER at KAMC-R and the difficulty of applying quarantine measures, preventive measures plans have been upgraded in order to deal with the epidemiology and to control the infection by taking the following measures:
Reduce the numbers of patients / return patients in the ER.
Reduce the numbers of patients / return patients in the outpatient clinics.
Suspend all non-emergency and non-urgent operations and surgeries.
Suspend all day case and short stay surgeries.
Allocate three wings to accommodate the quarantine of suspected / confirmed cases.
Allocate a quarantined Intensive Care Unit to accommodate critical cases.
Reduce Visitation Hours and the number of visitors.
In addition to the emphasis on health practitioners to comply with all the infection control procedures and standards, since they are the most vulnerable to be infected due to direct contact with infected patients.
Note that this epidemiology plan will be evaluated on a daily basis and will be adjusted as required.
Dr. Hanan, as a member of the National Scientific Committee of Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health pointed out that confirmed cases of MERS-Coronavirus will be recorded from various health sectors on a daily basis on to the Health Electronic Surveillances Network (HESN) at the Ministry of Health, and communication with the Command and Control Center at the Ministry of Health is continuous in order to activate the procedures to be followed at a national level to control infection and reduce the spread of infectious diseases. While confirming that the Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs is deals with the current situation with complete transparency and high professionalism in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the concerned authorities.
Last but not least, Dr. Hanan highlighted the importance of active cooperation of the patients and visitors to King Abdulaziz Medical City - Riyadh by following the awareness tips that are distributed and presented across through visual aids and social media networks to avoid going to emergency departments, except in critical situations or injuries that require undergoing ambulatory procedures, and to reduce your visits to inpatients as much as possible, and to commit to applying the correct ways to stop the spread of the germs expelled from the mouth and nose through coughing and sneezing in addition to wearing a surgical mask in case of having a cold or a flu while not mixing in public places.