Abdool-Richards: Seven recent covid19 cases among repatriated nationals

Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards reported that seven recent cases of covid19 were found among repatriated nationals.

She was explaining the need for careful regulation of the return of citizens from severely affected countries.

Responding to questions from reporters during the Ministry of Health's virtual covid19 update on Wednesday, Abdool-Richards, principal medical officer in charge of health institutions, said they were among 50 new cases recorded between Tuesday and Wednesday.

She also said the availability of beds was only one criterion the ministry considered for repatriating citizens, and stressed the need to prevent facilities from being crowded and unmanageable by authorities. Up to the time of the media conference, she said, they were already at 75 per cent capacity.

"The repatriation exercises are timed on the availability of these facilities which is really dependent on several factors, not just the availability of bed occupancies. For example, we have to take into consideration if there were positive covid cases from within the facility which would affect the sanitisation and decontamination of the facility.

"There has to be an airing-out period for that room or that area for two weeks, as per World Health Organisation guidelines."

"Additionally, we need to consider the transfer logistics that are involved, the ability or the capacity for lab testing for the returning nationals, and our human resource and other resources that are available."

Abdool-Richards also said two state quarantine facilities were being reserved for the elderly and other vulnerable groups.