BAHRAIN’S proactive measures have been pivotal in protecting medics in the frontline of the coronavirus battle, it has been revealed.
The government sprung into action as soon as the outbreak was reported with healthcare workers given top priority.
They were provided with personal protection equipment (PPEs) at all facilities while weekly testing and mechanisms for their mental health support were also ensured.
National Taskforce to Combat Covid-19 member Dr Jameela Al Salman highlighted Bahrain’s strides in tackling Covid-19 at a webinar.
She warned that impact of a pandemic on healthcare workers could overwhelm any country’s health system, leading to more fatalities.
“Even if healthcare workers do not die, their ability to provide care may be reduced,” she pointed out.
She highlighted the 2009 swine flu (influenza) pandemic that lasted for about 19 months, from January 2009 to August 2010. First identified in Mexico, it affected an estimated 60 million people and resulted in more than 12,000 deaths in the US alone in that period.
“At the peak of the severe influenza pandemic, up to 40 per cent of healthcare workers were unable to report for duty because they were ill themselves, needed to care for their family members or children because of school closures or were afraid to come to work.
“This calls for all necessary and prompt measures to be ensured to protect healthcare workers – which were among the priorities for Bahrain.”
Dr Al Salman also pointed out studies which showed that a delay in proactive steps to safeguard medics during a pandemic could triple the size of the outbreak.
“During the 2003 Sars pandemic, a one-week delay in applying control measures may have nearly tripled the size of the outbreak and increased its duration by four weeks,” she said.
The 2003 Sars pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARs-CoV-1), was first identified in China (Foshan) in November 2002. Over 8,000 people from 29 countries were infected, and at least 774 died worldwide.
“When pandemics cause spikes in morbidity and mortality, they can overwhelm health systems,” Dr Al Salman, also infection control consultant at Salmaniya Medical Complex, said.
“Overwhelmed health systems and other indirect effects may contribute to a two to three-fold increase in all-cause mortality during pandemics.
“During the 2009 influenza pandemic, increases in acute myocardial infraction and stroke were also reported among healthcare workers.”
National Taskforce to Combat Covid-19 monitoring committee head Dr Manaf Al Qahtani also noted the country’s priority to protect its first-line medics.
“We ensure the supply of PPEs at all healthcare facilities and a separate pathway for admission for suspected and confirmed Covid cases at facilities,” he said.
“Weekly testing for healthcare workers and mechanisms for mental health support are also ensured.”
The World Health Organisation reported that one in 10 healthcare workers was infected with the coronavirus in some countries.
In March, nine per cent of those affected in Italy were health workers and in May 2020, the International Council of Nurses reported that at least 90,000 healthcare workers had been infected and more than 260 nurses died in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, on Bahrain’s preparedness index for Covid-19 responses, Dr Al Salman noted that the public health infrastructure was capable of identifying, tracing, managing and treating cases.
Evolution
“Adequate physical and communications infrastructure to channel information resources, fundamental public management capacities and capacity to mobilise financial resources to pay for disease response and weather the economic shock of the outbreak are among the others,” she said.
Dr Al Salman and Dr Al Qahtani were speaking at the UK-Bahrain Covid-19 Phylogenetic Analysis Webinar – which assessed the evolution of Covid-19 in Bahrain and the UK.
The session also discussed high-level genomic aspects and the ongoing research and clinical therapeutic trials in the UK and Bahrain.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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