The nation is urged to remain calm and to co-operate with the Ministry of Health and Social
Services and other agencies of the State, so that we can defeat and break the transmission of
the virus together. | take this opportunity to commend all who have been involved in
ensuring that our preparedness and response activities are strengthened in order to prevent
local transmission of the virus in our country. Your dedicated efforts have resulted in
tangible results and successes. These include:
¢
Operationalization of a
(EOC), for the purpose
24-hour toll-free hotline
of providing information
at
to
the
the
Emergency Operations Centre
public and addressing inquiries
from persons seeking guidance, including information on the reporting of suspected
cases. Though the hotline, members of the
given relevant information on COVID-19.
public
who
need
medical
services
are
also
e
Compilation
stakeholders
of Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) to guide actions of all
involved in the anti-COVID-19 response. This is part of our compliance
with the call by the World Health Organization on countries to strengthen prevention and
control measures for COVID-19.
Intensification of community mobilization efforts in order to mitigate and refute
misinformation, fear and panic especially from social media. Messages on COVID-19
will be sent to the public to help them better understand the pandemic. Such information
is also useful for practitioners in the areas of guidance on case management and
surveillance.
© Intensified surveillance, monitoring of the situation especially at the main international
ports of entry to ensure prompt case detection and response.
® Collaboration with other institutions and OMAs to compliment the human resources
needs in the MOHSS.
© Putting in place a multi-disciplinary Emergency Response team to attend to suspected
and confirmed cases 24 hours a day.
¢ Deployment of the Class Two Military Field Hospital at Hosea Kutako International
Airport.
e An Incident Manager for COVID was appointed two weeks ago. The Incident Manager
is responsible to coordinate all
government institutions, partner
aspects of the response, namely, selecting relevant
organizations, assigning responsibilities, developing,
implementing and evaluating control plan, and managing information for public and news
media.
I wish to underscore and repeat the message that we have been sharing that in order to
prevent the spread of the disease, our people should take the following prevention measures:
° Regular hand washing with soap and running water.
e Covering mouth and nose with a disposable tissue or cloth when coughing or sneezing.
° Travelers with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette
and limit contact with others.
e
Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms
coughing and sneezing, keep a distance of one meter.
of respiratory
illness
such
as
e Avoid public gatherings.
