Cyprus Mail 11 March 2020 - article by Evie Andreou
Nicosia General (Christos Theodorides)
Surgeries that were cancelled due to the temporary suspension of the operations of the Nicosia and Limassol general hospitals after one cardiologist was tested positive for coronavirus, will be rescheduled but accident and emergency departments are continuing to operate, state health services organisation Okypy said on Wednesday.
Both general hospitals announced that routine surgeries, appointments and admissions would be suspended temporarily. The measures at the Limassol hospital started on Wednesday and will be in place for 48 hours.
The medical association (CyMA) said there will be more confirmed coronavirus cases in Cyprus but at a slower pace, while approving the measures the government announced.
According to the spokesman of Okypy Pambos Harilaou, the epidemiologists’ team of the health ministry will decide within the day whether the lift or extend the measures taken in the two hospitals.
He said that the 33 nurses and five doctors that work at the Nicosia hospital’s cardiology department, who were tested negative for Covid-19, are now in self-isolation. He added that all areas in which the doctor who tested positive for coronavirus has been at the Nicosia general hospital have been disinfected.
“From the beginning, we acted immediately,” Harilaou told the Cyprus News Agency.
He added that they traced all persons who had come in close contact with the doctor and took samples.
In total 190 people were tested between Tuesday and Wednesday, most relating to the two confirmed cases.
All results came negative, but the people involved were asked to self-isolate.
CyMA spokesperson Maria Koliou, told CNA that there will be more confirmed Covid-19 cases but a slower pace.
Koliou expressed reserved optimism over the fact that the people tested in the past 24 hours were negative. She also said that it is not possible to know how many cases could ultimately be detected in Cyprus.
“We need to be careful both within the country and not just when we travel abroad,” Koliou said.
According to Harilaou inpatients at the hospital’s cardiology department are being treated and will be gradually discharged depending on their contention.
Harilaou said that all cancelled surgeries will be rescheduled, while the two hospitals’ A&Es continue to operate.
Private hospitals said they would refer any possible coronavirus cases to the public sector.
The head of the private hospital’s association Pasin, Savvas Kadis, told CNA that they instructions by the health ministry on what to do in such cases.
“Private hospitals cannot treat patients with coronavirus,” he said, adding that there is centralised management of such cases in all countries around the world.
In the case a Covid-19 case is found in private hospitals, then the effected hospital will be quarantined and everyone who have come in contact with the patient will be put in isolation, he said.
If a patient suspected of having Covid-19 goes to a private hospital, he said, they will refer him or her to the 1420 hotline for instructions.
“The management of these cases is being done centrally, by the health ministry,” Kadis said. He added that private hospitals monitor and adhere to instructions by the health ministry.
Several private hospitals and clinics have introduced restrictions as regards visits to inpatients.
Kadis said private hospitals are now requiring visitors to disinfect their hands when entering their grounds.
