Preparing for Ebola, Then Coronavirus

By Katherine Seaton, Editorial OfficerApril 02, 2020Midwife Ester (pictured below, screening a client for COVID-19) is used to waking up every morning and going to work at the Rwamagana Provincial Hospital in Rwanda to care for mothers and babies there. But in the last few weeks, circumstances have changed her daily work routine. Now, she identifies and investigates suspected COVID-19 cases, conducting screenings for everyone who enters the hospital.“I’m not scared of COVID-19,” she says.“I am just happy I am contributing to saving lives.’’ Rwanda declared its first case of coronavirus on March 14, 2020, and over 100 health workers (and counting) are now organizing to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19, helping to identify and investigate suspected cases at health facilities. As of April 1, 2020, Rwanda had75 confirmed cases of COVID-19.But this is not Rwanda’s first time responding to a deadly communicable disease. The country shares one of the busiest border crossings in the world with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which announced on March 3 that itno longer had any cases of Ebola—an enormous milestone for the DRC, which had been tackling the second-deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history.Now those strong health systems and planning skills are helping both countries respond to COVID-19. Rwanda and DRC already havedisease response plans in place to help mitigate the spread of this new and hi...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Infectious Diseases Health Workers Midwives Nurses Source Type: news