 Hello and welcome to interview a production of the government information service. I am your host, Fenelle Neptune Today we'll discuss the topic coronavirus and with us to discuss this topic is national epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Vasua. Welcome to the program. Thank you, Ms. Neptune Today we would like to discuss the coronavirus. Can you give us a little more information about the coronavirus? What exactly is the coronavirus? Well, as its name suggests, it is a virus. It has been with us for a little while now. It is responsible for the then epidemic's moods and SARS that we would have heard about quite a few years ago, but it also is responsible for mild cases such as the common cold. This particular strain, however, was only discovered in January of this year in China. In December of 2019, the authorities in China noticed quite a few cases of pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs, and they could not identify the cause. It was not until January of this year that they realized that it was a new strain of the coronavirus, and so this is the virus that we are dealing with now and the world is preparing for. You mentioned about the world and it started in China, but can you tell us what is the current situation of the coronavirus around the world? Besides China, how many other countries actually affected by this? As of the 5th of February 2020, there have been at least 24,000 cases, over 24,000 cases in the world. The majority of these cases, however, have been in China, and these are confirmed cases. These are cases that have been tested and have come back positive. 191 of these cases have been in 24 countries outside of China. In terms of deaths, there have been 425 deaths. However, most of them, the only death outside of China has been in the Philippines, but the majority of deaths or all the other deaths have been in China. What we have also seen is that the average age of persons becoming infected, although it ranges from 26 to about 89 years of age, you find that the average age was about 57 years old, and with respect to their deaths, however, what we did notice is that most of the persons who died did have underlying illnesses. So they were older persons and they did have underlying illnesses, for example, heart disease, lung disease, and some other complications that would have made the infection even worse. Okay, so we consider persons that are more at risk, would say it's more the elderly and persons with other conditions or diseases as well. That is right, and this is typical of most infections because the older and the very young, they have the immune system is not as strong as the young persons, and of course, if you do have an underlying illness, it makes you more prone to it. So this is typical and we see that with many other infections. Okay, and is it safe to say that we have no cases of coronavirus in St. Lucia to date? We do not have any cases of coronavirus in St. Lucia. We continue monitoring, we continue putting measures in place because we do not have a case, we do know that more than likely, well, not more than likely, but a case would present to us from a returning national or from a visitor. So therefore, we have been putting measures in place to ensure that when that case comes, we are able to respond in a very efficient manner. Wonderful. And how was the coronavirus spread? The coronavirus, just like most of the other respiratory diseases to date, it is spread when an individual coughs or sneeze, so it's spread through droplets. Hence the importance of practicing cough etiquette, covering your cough, covering your sneeze, washing your hands very frequently. So we preach the same measures that we preach for the flu and for the common cold and all other diseases that are transmitted via the respiratory tract. We preach that the virus itself can live at least two to five hours on surfaces. So therefore, it becomes very important. That's where the hand washing becomes very important as well. So for example, door knobs and handrails, these sorts of things, you need to keep washing your hands frequently, as well as doing some level of disinfection, especially if you have somebody who is ill at home. Great. And so what are some of the signs and symptoms of the coronavirus? Of the cases that we have seen so far, most persons present with fever, a dry cough, which may turn productive, meaning that you may develop phlegm. Persons would have chest pains, chills and eventually shortness of breath and it may progress to organ failure, which is normally what causes death in the individuals. Okay. And would you say that it can be transmitted from person to person? We know we said that the person could have a cold respiratory illness. Can it be transmitted from person to person? It can be. Initially, when the authorities in China discovered this new strain, it was thought to have been spread from this market in Wuhan city. So they thought at the time that it came from an animal and coronaviruses normally live in animals, but they can be transmitted to humans from the animals. So it was thought at the time, because most persons had visited that city, they thought that that was the cause. However, later on we noticed that healthcare professionals and some persons within the families who were in close proximity to confirmed cases became ill and then it became apparent that there is a level of person to transmission. So then definitely that would lead us to our next question as to what precautionary measures, but we are due for a break. So when we return, we'll definitely continue this discussion. You are going right when you make a habit of washing your hands several times a day. This message brought to you courtesy the Bureau of Health Education of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Welcome back. We'll continue our discussion with Dr. Michelle Paswa on the coronavirus. Before we took the break, we were discussing in terms of the transmission of the coronavirus from person to person and it would be important that if you could tell inclusions, what are the precautionary measures they can put in place? Well, in addition to the cough etiquette that I mentioned earlier, cover your cough. If you're blowing your nose, make sure you use a handkerchief or a disposable, preferably a disposable tissue, paper towel, as well as frequent hand washing. And avoid if you are ill or if your child is ill. We ask that you avoid sending individuals to work or to school. As we know in the case of children, they don't pay attention to these little things and it's very easy to spread. The Ministry of Health in an effort to keep our general public safe, what we have done, we have assessed the risk. We maintain contact with our regional and our international partners who have provided us with guidelines and continue to support us in every way. With the declaration of the epidemic, as a public health emergency or international concern, the decision was made to place a ban on non-nationals. So, persons returning who have had, who have during the course of 14 days, have been to China would not be allowed into St. Lucia. However, we have made provisions for our returning nationals. We may have persons over there, students or other individuals who would be returning home. And so, preparations have been made for these individuals. They will be accommodated. However, they will be placed in quarantine and followed up for a period of 14 days and 14 days because that is the incubation period for the virus. And by incubation period, I'm referring to the time when you actually get that virus into your body and you start manifesting signs and symptoms. Okay, great. So, you mentioned the quarantine. So, that leads us to the next question. How does the Department of Health actually monitor the threat of this coronavirus to St. Lucia? Well, one of the first things that we did is to sensitize and brief our front-line workers because they would be key. And as I explained, it would come in from somebody on the outside. So, the first thing we did was to sensitize our front-line workers. And by those, I'm referring to individuals at our ports. We sensitize them, know what they should be looking for and which countries they should be looking for. And so, that level of sensitization, we listen to their questions, their comments and try to address it as much as possible. We also had that done with our physicians because, of course, if somebody is ill, that is the first place they're going to go to. So, we've had sensitization with both private and public. We've had CMEs done where we sensitized our physicians as well. We are paying particular attention to our other colleagues at different ministries. We have met with tourism. We have met with the fire service because all education, all of these individuals, play a key part in prevention. And they need to know what the threat is, how to identify it, and ways and means of getting in contact with us. What the protocol is, if I identify somebody, who do I reach out to? So, that was one of the key things that we have done. Great. And can you tell us what are some of the procedures put in place at the seaports and the airports as to help to manage this threat? So, at the ports, what we have, we have, as I said, we have trained them and we also have port health nurses present. So, in addition to coming in and your passports being checked through the routine way, we do check to see if individuals have been to China. And those who have are referred to our port health nurse and a level of questioning is done. So, there is a questionnaire there. They ask you questions where you have been, what part, how long ago, and vitals. They will be assessed and then a decision made as per our protocols whether this individual should be quarantined based on what they get from that interview. Wonderful. Any final words or messages would you like to say for the inclusions? I would like to let the general public know that we do not have any cases. The Ministry of Health is working around the clock to ensure that we keep the population safe. We continue to ask that persons please adhere to your cough etiquette. Very simple. Cough etiquette, hand washing, keep your environment safe, continue to keep your surfaces clean. And if you do feel ill, we ask that you do not go into work or school. If for whatever reason you have traveled or you have come in and are unwell and you have traveled to China or anywhere else, please give that information to your healthcare provider so that the necessary can be done. Wonderful. Well, I want to thank you so much for being part of this program and also educating citizens on the coronavirus. Thank you, it was a pleasure. Well, that's how we come to the end of interview, a production of the Government Information Service. On behalf of the entire production team, I am Fenelle Neptune. Thanks for watching.