Health officials discuss response to Coronavirus

One medical doctor is raising concern that should the deadly Covid-19 virus reach Barbados’ shores and workers have to stay away from work for an extended period, they might not be paid.

Furthermore, Dr Abdon DaSilva, President of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP), is concerned that this could force doctors to write sick leave certificates at will.

He made the observation while addressing a public meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Wednesday evening under the theme Coronavirus: Epidemic, Pandemic or ‘Panicdemic’?

The meeting was designed especially to shed light on best practices to prevent the virus, which emerged in China in late December last year and has so far spread to close to 90 countries and territories.

While close to 100,000 cases have been recorded globally, just over 3,350 deaths have been recorded and more than 54,100 people have recovered.

Stating that while the virus was not in Barbados there was a lot of “fear and panic” among residents, DaSilva insisted that now was not the time to panic, but to be prepared.

He put the business community on notice, saying they would likely face some “difficult choices” and the situation may seem overwhelming should the virus reach Barbados since there would likely be “severe disruption to everyday life”.

“Our biggest problem with this virus is probably going to be that it will be spread by people who have no symptoms,” he said.

He recommended that employers start educating their workers and “actively encourage” them to stay home if they become sick or have a family member who is, should the virus be discovered here.

“You should develop a policy that permits employees who are well, but have a sick family member at home, to remain at home,” suggested DaSilva.

However, he quickly pointed out “This is probably going to be a huge challenge. If you are not sick I don’t think you should be requesting a sick leave certificate.”

The family physician explained: “The challenge is, if you have a lot of people who are home (caring for the quarantined) as far as I know there is no legislation in Barbados that allows you to be paid. Certainly the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) has advised me that they are not going to pay you for quarantine, and there is no policy at the labour department to address the issue.

“It is probably going to put doctors under pressure to write certificates . . . What we don’t want is for people who don’t know if they are going to be paid, to come to work with somebody home sick. We really don’t want that to happen,” he said, while advising, doctors really should not become “creative” in writing sick leave certificates.

DaSilva encouraged individuals to start limiting their handshakes and ramp up the washing of their hands with soap and water, limit the touching of their face, and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. “I don’t think we should wait until there is an actual case in Barbados to do that.

“You must try to protect others. If you think you have the virus contact your medical provider and stay at home . . . Stay away from members of the household and if you have the luxury of a separate bathroom you should use it,” he said.

“Any preparation we do as individuals, a country, a business or family, will always be helpful, preparation will never go to waste. Please, do your part,” he advised.

He also warned that there were a number of misconceptions as it related to the virus, adding that wearing a mask was “not very helpful” except for those who care for sick people at home and who are sick themselves.

“We are becoming a society where the health stores are becoming a little more useful, and probably to people’s detriment. And I want to caution here and now people who would think they can go to these health stores and have some sort of magic that would prevent them from getting, or that would cure the Coronavirus,” he cautioned.

Meanwhile, Senior Medical Officer Dr Arthur Phillips gave the assurance that the country had adequate supplies of medical items and protective gear should the need arise.

“As of now we have no confirmed or suspected case of Coronavirus in Barbados. The effort in the first instance is to prevent or reduce the chance of the virus coming here, and if it comes to detect it early and contain it. That in an essence is what we are seeking to do,” said Phillips.

“It is not expected that we will run out, but in addition to our regular supply chains there are alternative supply chains including through PAHO. They have stockpiles so if push comes to shove we can really start having this discussion about the Ministry of Health acquiring and how we would engage with the private sector should the private sector need and not be able to obtain otherwise,” he explained.

The health officials gave the assurance that a number of protocols were developed including advisories regarding mass gathering, how to properly dispose of garbage that could be bio-hazardous and how officials would proceed with schools should the virus reach Barbados’ shore.

Phillips said Barbados continues to monitor the spread of the virus internationally, pointing out that the risk of it reaching the island would increase depending on how widespread it was in some of the key source markets.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb