More than 10,000 health workers in Africa diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia
On July 23, local time, the African Regional Office of the World Health Organization announced that the new crown pneumonia epidemic posed a threat to health workers in many African countries. So far, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Africa has exceeded 750,000, of which more than 10,000 are health workers.
Dr. Matthidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said that the growing number of confirmed cases in Africa puts increasing pressure on the health systems of African countries. In Africa, information about health workers’ infections is still limited, but preliminary data shows that only in 14 sub-Saharan African countries, health workers’ infections account for more than 5% of all cases, and 4 of these countries The ratio exceeds 10%.
The main reasons why health workers in Africa are infected with the new crown virus are as follows: First, they cannot get adequate personal protective equipment; Second, the infection prevention and control measures adopted by the country or medical institution are weak. The World Health Organization has purchased 41 million pieces of personal protective clothing from China to fill the gap in health and medical needs in 47 African countries. The first batch of materials will be sent to 23 African countries this weekend.
The WHO surveyed nearly 30,000 African medical institutions, and only 16% had an evaluation score of more than 75 points (out of 100). Many health facilities lack critical infection prevention measures or lack infrastructure to prevent overcrowding. Only 7.8% of health institutions have isolation capabilities, and only one third of health institutions have triage capabilities. (Headquarters reporter Gu Xuejia)