COVID-19 – Facts

In early January 2020, a large number of infections of an unknown virus, which shared very similar symptoms with pneumonia, was reported in China.

The outbreak emerged in the city of Wuhan, counting already with some casualties. Meanwhile, other cases have been detected as well, in countries like the USA, France, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.

The virus was identified as a new stripe of coronavirus.

Human Coronaviruses are common throughout the world. There are many different coronaviruses identified in animals but only a small number of these can cause disease in humans.

On 7 January 2020, ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2’ (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed as the causative agent of ‘Coronavirus Disease 2019’ or COVID-19. The majority of the case-patients initially identified were dealers and vendors at seafood, poultry, and live wildlife market in China. Since then, the virus has spread to more than 100 countries, including South Africa.

Currently, travelers to areas where there is the ongoing sustained transmission of COVID-19 including Mainland China (all provinces), Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Italy, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are at greatest risk of infection.

Furthermore, the elderly, individuals with co-morbidities, and healthcare workers have been found to be at a higher risk of death.

While the first cases probably involved exposure to an animal source, the virus now seems to be spreading from person-to-person.

The spread of the disease is thought to happen mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. Thus far, the majority of cases have occurred in people with close physical contact to cases and healthcare workers caring for patients with COVID-19.

Current symptoms reported for patients with COVID-19 have included mild to severe respiratory illness with cough, sore throat, shortness of breath or fever.

The complete clinical picture with regard to COVID-19 is still not fully clear. Reported illnesses have ranged from infected people with little to no symptoms to people being severely ill and dying.

Treatment is supportive (providing oxygen for patients with shortness of breath or treating a fever, for example). To date, there is no specific antiviral treatment available. Antibiotics do not treat viral infections. However, antibiotics may be required if a bacterial secondary infection develops.

The following can provide protection against infection from Coronaviruses and many other viruses that are more common in South Africa:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay at home when you are sick and try and keep a distance from others at home.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a flexed elbow or a tissue, then throw the tissue in the bin.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

On 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a new measure to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in South Africa: A nationwide lockdown with severe restrictions on travel and movement, supported by the South African National Defence Force – from midnight on Thursday, 26 March. The President said more needed to be done to avoid “an enormous catastrophe” among the population.

The initial plan was that lockdown would be in place for three weeks, but has since been divided onto 5 different levels, level 5 being the strictest. In essence, being on lockdown level 5 meant people would only be allowed to leave their homes to buy food, seek medical help or under other extreme circumstances.

The lockdown follows government regulations that limited public gatherings travel from high-risk countries and the sale of alcohol and tobacco.

In addition, borders were closed to reduce the rate of infection from those travelling into South Africa from other countries. A quarantine was also enforced on inbound travellers and returning citizens.

We are currently on lockdown level 2. Our movements are still restricted, but many people have been able to return to work, restaurants are now open, tobacco is sold, alcohol is sold four days a week and movie theatres are open over weekends although only 50 people are allowed in the cinema per show. However, people are still required to wear masks in public and social distancing are still being encouraged.

On Wednesday, 1 April, Minister of Health, Dr. Zweli Mkhize, launched 60 new mobile laboratories to boost the country’s capacity to test for COVID-19.

The sampling and testing units, procured by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), have been deployed nationwide to all priority districts and metros.

10,000 community health care workers have been deployed across the country for door-to-door household screening. Each province was requested to start working on this strategy by deploying provincial community healthcare workers, with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment, to undertake a house-to-house program of “no-touch” screening for Covid-19 symptoms and to refer symptomatic people to clinics for testing.

In addition, PEPFAR-funded District Support Partners have been instructed to support provinces in this program.

Initially, South Africa had the capacity to conduct 5,000 tests for COVID-19 daily. However, with the addition of mobile testing units, combined with 180 testing sites and 320 testing units across the country, this number has increased six-fold.

As of 31 August 2020, South Africa has 72,424 active cases. The number of patients who successfully recovered from the virus is 538,604. A total number of 14,028 infected people in South Africa did not survive the pandemic.

Protecting yourself

• Wash your hands frequently and properly. (The World Health Organisation advises to hygiene the hands with water and soap or uses an alcohol-based hand rub if you don’t have immediate access to soap and water.)

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth without washing your hands first.
• Avoid close contact with people that are sick.
• Avoid areas where animals are sold or bread, especially in regions where many cases of the virus were reported.
• Wear a mask as advised by local authorities and in places where its use is well regulated.
• Seek medical advice immediately if you have a fever or any other symptoms after traveling. Tell your doctor where you were traveling.

Protecting others

• Clean and disinfect all surfaces properly and regularly.
• Wash your hands regularly and properly (for 20 seconds) with soap and water.
• Stay home if you feel sick.
• Avoid social contact and keep 1-2 meters of social distancing.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a medically approved mask.
• When sneezing or coughing, cover your mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue. Throw tissue into a closed bin immediately after use.
• Call a doctor immediately if you or your colleagues show flu symptoms.

Should an employee have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, he/she may contact Christelle Geringer (HR manager) on Christelle@miprint.co.za or 012 772 7760.