Coronavirus precautions as cases here are likely
IT IS looking increasingly likely that cases of coronavirus will be seen in Guernsey, the States has said.
Health & Social Care is working with other committees to ensure the island is prepared to handle any cases of the deadly virus.
The news comes as China confirms that more than 130 people have died of the virus and the illness has spread to 16 countries, including Germany and France.
Public Health director Dr Nicola Brink said they were monitoring the situation.
‘As transmission of the virus has now occurred outside of China, and there may be undiagnosed cases in the UK, it would be prudent for islanders to take simple precautions to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses,’ she said.
Advice includes not having contact with people who are sick, not travelling to affected areas and washing hands regularly.
Anyone returning from an affected area in the last 14 days, who has a fever, cough or shortness of breath should call the Emergency Department at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital or their GP and tell them about recent travel and the symptoms. They should not go to the GP or the PEH unannounced.
Hundreds of British citizens being flown back to the UK from Wuhan – the source of the outbreak – today and will be put in quarantine for two weeks.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office is advising against all travel to Hubei Province and only essential travel to the rest of China.
The virus causes respiratory illness of varying severity. Currently, there is no vaccine and no specific treatment to tackle it.
However, scientists from across the world are working hard to unravel the illness. Chinese scientists have released the genetic sequence online. This compares with the five months it took to isolate the genetic material for Sars about 20 years ago.
A dedicated page on the States’ website has been set up to keep islanders up to date about the outbreak – www.gov.gg/coronavirus.