Message to Health City Patients re: COVID-19
CAYMAN ISLANDS (Friday March 13, 2020) – We are asking that patients and visitors to Health City remain calm and not become overly anxious and panicked regarding their potential exposure to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) following the positive test result of a patient being cared for in medical isolation in our Medical Intensive Care Unit.
Please be aware that this patient was admitted to Health City in critical condition, and as such was admitted directly to our Intensive Care Unit. While approximately 40 staff members interacted at some level with the patient, any medical staff members dealing with the patient directly would have had to follow our internally stringent infection control policies that are always in place in the Intensive Care Unit.
Medical staff in our ICU Follow guideline based protocols which give the highest level of infection control. This is also true for any visitors to the ICU – and visitation is limited to very brief time frames and to immediate family members only.
The patient concerned was also in even more increased medical isolation in the MICU ever since he showed respiratory symptoms.
At no time did any of the administrative staff come directly in contact with the COVID-19 positive patient.
The staff in the intensive Care Unit who are symptomatic are being quarantined as an extreme precautionary measure in the hospital’s stringent response to the containment of the virus. This does not mean that all staff members and their relations are sick or exhibiting symptoms – only that they have potentially been exposed to the virus.
Please also note that according to the World Health Organization (WHO): “The main way the disease spreads is through respiratory droplets expelled by someone who is coughing. The risk of catching COVID-19 from someone with no symptoms at all is very low. However, many people with COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms. This is particularly true at the early stages of the disease. It is therefore possible to catch COVID-19 from someone who has, for example, just a mild cough and does not feel ill. WHO is assessing ongoing research on the period of transmission of COVID-19 and will continue to share updated findings.”
For more information on COVID-19 from the WHO, please visit: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
So please, do not worry or concern yourselves unnecessarily, but please continue to take all the necessary precautions and personal protective measures, such as frequent hand washing, covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory illnesses and avoiding large social gatherings. Stay at home as much as possible.
If you develop any flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose etc., please contact the Cayman Islands Public Health Department at [email protected] or via the flu hotline at 1-800-534-8600.
Sincerely
Health City Cayman Islands Management
