Over 10,000 health workers in Africa has been infected with COVID-19 – WHO

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:37 pm

The World Health Organization (WHO) nowadays (July 23) warned of the chance posed by COVID-19 to fitness employees throughout Africa.

More than 10 zero fitness workers in the forty international locations which have stated on such infections have been infected with COVID-19 so far, a signal of the challenges scientific team of workers on the frontlines of the outbreak face.

This comes as COVID-19 cases in Africa show up to be gathering pace. There are now greater than 750,000 cases of COVID-19, with over 15,000 deaths.

Some international locations are coming near a vital number of infections that can vicinity stress on fitness systems. South Africa is now among the worst-hit international locations in the world.

“The growth we are seeing in COVID-19 cases in Africa is putting an ever-greater pressure on health offerings across the continent,” stated Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHORegional Director for Africa.

“This has very real penalties for the individuals who work in them, and there is no more sobering instance of this than the rising range of fitness worker infections.”

So far, about 10% of all cases globally are among health workers, though there is a wide range between person countries. In Africa, data on health worker infections is still limited, however preliminary data finds that they make up more than 5% of instances in 14 international locations in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and in four of these, fitness employees make up greater than 10% of all infections.

Inadequate get right of entry to to non-public protective tools or vulnerable infection prevention and control measures increase the hazard of health employee infection.

Surging international demand for protecting equipment as nicely as global restrictions on tour have brought on supply shortages.

Health employees can additionally be uncovered to sufferers who do no longer exhibit signs and symptoms of the disease and are in the health amenities for a range of other services.

Risks may also additionally occur when fitness personnel are repurposed for COVID-19 response except sufficient briefing, or because of heavy workloads which end result in fatigue, burnout and perhaps not completely applying the fashionable running procedures.

In many African nations infection prevention and control measures aimed at stopping infections in health facilities are nevertheless no longer completely implemented.

When WHO assessed clinics and hospitals throughout the continent for these measures, only 16% of the almost 30 0 amenities surveyed had assessment scores above 75%.

Many health centres were discovered to lack the infrastructure necessary to enforce key infection prevention measures, or to forestall overcrowding.

Only 7.8% (2213) had isolation capacities and just a third had the ability to triage patients. “One infection among health workers is one too many,” stated Dr Moeti.

“Doctors, nurses and other fitness specialists are our mothers, brothers and sisters. They are supporting to retailer lives endangered by COVID-19.

We have to make sure that they have the equipment, abilities and information they want to keep themselves, their sufferers and colleagues safe.”

(AFP)