The Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Ministry advises the public to adhere to standard health measures needed for the prevention and control of respiratory infections:
* Avoid crowded places;
* Frequently wash hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rubs;
* When coughing and sneezing, cover the mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissues. Discard tissues safely and wash hands immediately after.
* Avoid close contact with anyone who has fever and cough; and
* If you have fever and cough and had travelled to a city from where the novel Coronavirus cases are reported, seek prompt medical advice and share your travel history with the doctor who treats you.
The Chief Medical Officer of Colombo Municipal Council Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni requests the public to wear masks to ensure the safety of everyone.
PRECAUTIONS
The Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Ministry says necessary precautions have already been implemented at ports of entries. They are:
* People travelling to Sri Lanka are advised on board the aircraft to report to the health desk at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) if they have symptoms suggestive of the disease (high fever, cough, cold and difficulty in breathing).
* The health desk at the airport is in operation round the clock.
* Thermal scanners have been installed in the airport to identify travellers having a temperature.
* Any person presenting with signs and symptoms of suggestive of respiratory illness will be screened at the airport health desk to determine any possibility of the novel Coronavirus infection.
* If there is any such possibility, appropriate measures will be taken for the admission, further investigation and treatment.
THE RISK
On December 31, 2019, Chinese health authorities alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) about several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan city of the Hubei Province due to a previously unknown virus. One week later, on January 7, 2020, it was confirmed that the causative organism for the illness is a Coronavirus and this was named as “2019-nCoV” (novel Coronavirus).
Coronavirus is a large family of viruses which is transmitted between animals and people.
They can cause illnesses ranging from common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
An increased number of cases infected with 2019-nCoV are being detected in Hubei Province, a number of other provinces and cities in China, and several other countries.
A total of 2,700 confirmed 2019-nCoV cases have been reported worldwide while 80 deaths have been reported only from China by yesterday (27).
The WHO’s assessment of the risk of this infection has not changed since the last risk assessment conducted on January 22: very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level.
The 2019-nCoV can be transmitted from one individual to another. Since there is a possibility of the disease being detected in Sri Lanka, similar to countries other than China, implementing public health measures is essential to prevent spread of the disease in the country.
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VULNERABLE PEOPLE
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WHAT TO DO
(1) To prevent transmission of all types of respiratory infections, people should cover their mouths and noses with a handkerchief or a tissue when coughing and sneezing.
* In the absence of such an item, they should at least cover their faces with the help of the inner side of their elbow.
(2) Smoking raises the risk of contracting influenza as well as leads to severe symptoms of the disease.
(4) People should avoid spitting in public.
(5) Washing hands regularly with soap and water or cleaning hands with alcohol-based hand rubs is essential.
(6) Used tissues should be disposed of carefully and used handkerchiefs should be washed carefully with germ killer soaps or liquids before re-using.
(7) Surface sanitizing may help prevent some infections at home, school and office. Alcohol is an effective sanitizer against influenza viruses.
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Fighting the virus
The influenza virus can survive up to two to three hours in a droplet. Coughing spreads droplets as far as six metres and sneezing as much as eight metres. These droplets stay suspended in the air for up to 10 minutes. People with flu can spread it to others up to about six feet away.
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