BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO
MINISTRY of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) plans to establish quarantine facilities at the provinces as part of their preparedness effort to prevent Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19).
This was confirmed by Minister of Health and Medical Services, Dickson Mua, during a recent joint press conference on Coronavirus-19.
“We are also looking at establishing quarantine facilities at the provinces in the near future,” Mua said.
He said for Honiara the identified quarantine facilities are at the Henderson Airfield to enable prompt and safe quarantine of passengers should they need to be quarantines.
“In addition to quarantine, patient isolation facilities are being set up at the National Referral Hospital to accommodate and care for suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19, should they arise,” said Mua.
According to the Ministry of Health’s statement focusing on the quarantine site it stressed, as part of MHMS, other government ministries and partners preparedness effort to prevent potential importation of COVID-19 into the country they have identified a site for quarantine.
“The quarantine site is a place to monitor people who are not sick, however, may have been exposed or have been to restricted and affected countries. The World Health Organization has provided and will providing technical and financial support to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services for the set up and furbishing of the quarantine site.
“Any person who becomes ill while being quarantined will be immediately transferred to the Isolation Center, for appropriate medical care by trained health workers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that surroundings communities nearby to the quarantine site are at risk of being infected of COVID-19, since those quarantines are healthy persons.
“People living around the quarantine site(s) are kindly reminded to remain vigilant by practicing good personal hygiene behaviors and respect the quarantine sites at all times by not going near the quarantine(s),” the statement stated.
