By Foday Moriba Conteh
There is three (3) death reported of a 76, 69 and a 37 year old man who was admitted at the Connaught hospital and Choithram Memorial Hospital respectively.
The first case died before he was proved positive of COVID-19 at the Connaught hospital and NOT at the 34 Military Hospital Treatment Centre, the second person to die of Covid19 was a patient at the Choitram Hospital who’d gone there for some other health reason and a 37-year-old man has died of #Covid19 bringing to three those claimed by the disease. All of them in the last three days.
He’s the youngest to die of the disease in the country. According to the EOC, he had gone to the main referral hospital, Connaught, where he met the case definition for coronavirus. He died before his specimen could be collected for testing. Dead swab samples however tested positive for #Covid19.
According to the Covid19 spokesman, Solomon Jamiru, the second case of a 69-year-old man showed signs of coronavirus and later tested positive for it and he passed away as he was being transferred to the 34 military hospital for isolation and treatment,
The 70 COVID-19 active cases currently under observation are being managed in isolation centers. All are in stable condition.
The total number of persons currently in quarantine is 891. The total number of persons that have been discharged from quarantine is 1,259.
Members of the public are encouraged to call 117 if they experience fever, tiredness and cough.
Government has now made it mandatory for everyone to wear a cloth face mask in public spaces. Enforcement mechanisms are in place, so everyone is advised to secure a cloth face mask.
The Public is further encouraged to continue frequent washing of hands with soap or use hand sanitizer; avoid touching one’s eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands; cough or sneeze into their upper arm or sleeve; and avoid close contact (arms stretched length) from others, especially in crowded areas.
The Government of Sierra Leone has decided to provide frontline healthcare workers with required incentives for the treatment and medical care of persons with COVID-19 thus:
a. Cash risk allowance in lieu of their PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax deductions for a period of three months commencing lst April, 2020, subject to review.
b. A life insurance policy encompassing payment to the next-of-kin of any frontline healthcare worker that loses his/her life in providing treatment to persons infected with COVID-19.
c. Free tuition and other forms of educational support for a maximum of three (3) children up to 1st degree level, for any healthcare worker who loses his/her life in the discharge of their duties.
d. A COVID-19 weekly allowance, including compensation for daily food, board and lodging, to frontline healthcare workers in treatment centres (Acute), Isolation centres (Mild), Laboratory and quarantine centres/homes.
The public is encouraged to take good care of their health to help protect against COVID-19. Take children for marklate and go to the hospital for Antenatal Care (ANC), safe delivery, malaria testing and treatment, and other regular care. Hospitals remain the safest places to go for health checks, treatment and care.
