Guyana Government to set up COVID screening units in communities

(Guyana Chronicle) In addition to the setting up of COVID-19 hotlines across the country, steps are being taken to operationalise COVID-19 screening units at “hot spots” where a significant number of reports come from, according to officials from the Health and Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC), which is coordinating the country’s response to the pandemic.

The proactive measures are being implemented to reduce escalation on the National COVID-19 hotline, as well as to ensure that the HEOC is able to reach those persons who need screening most.

“We would not be waiting now for you to call; we would be going to the communities to practise active surveillance, to identify possible cases and give them the necessary attention or assistance that is needed,” noted HEOC Deputy Director, Dr. Leston Payne.

Dr. Payne was at the time speaking on an episode of “COVID Conversations”, organised by the Ministry of Public Health to update the public on measures being taken to protect citizens, and curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which first came to Guyana on March 11.

Responding to questions on the HEOC’s response time to calls of suspected coronavirus cases incoming on the national COVID-19 hotline, Dr. Payne acknowledged that several factors affect how fast a response team is sent to a location after a call is received.

Noting that a triage system is in place to take care of that, Dr. Payne said:

“The response team works on a 24-hour basis, but we identify the most critical of cases that come in, and we prioritise them. Once we would’ve identified someone who needs an immediate clinical evaluation and possible transferal to a COVID institution, that is prioritised with the utmost sense of urgency.”

He further noted: “For most persons, we get to them within half-an-hour,  but it is an integrated approach, based on the clinical and hemodynamic stability of the patient, that would determine who we will visit first. But we want the public to rest assured that very soon, every region would have, at a minimum, three response teams to respond to any COVID-19-related issue.”

Dr. Payne reassured his audience that notwithstanding the challenges, the HEOC Response Unit is doing its best to tend to citizens and fight spread of the virus, which has already been responsible for over 117, 000 deaths globally.

“Some might feel we are not responding to them in a timely manner, but there’s a protocol that we have in place. The unit we send out is in keeping with the information we receive from the persons calling in,” the doctor explained.

The COVID-19 hotline was set up to allow for citizens who suspect that they may have contracted the virus, or are exhibiting virus-related symptoms, to be able to call, so that a response team could be sent to their home, as persons were previously being advised not to visit the hospital if they suspect that they may have the virus. This was due to the virus being easily spread through contact with infected surfaces contaminated through coughing or sneezing by infected persons.

Read more at: Guyana Chronicle