27 Jul Equatorial Guinea has an action protocol to deal with the Coronavirus

Thanks to this protocol, it has been possible to identify and isolate, today, a case of COVID-19 from the Kingdom of Spain.

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea has an action protocol to deal with the Coronavirus that has already been applied for a long time, after the first cases in the African continent. Thanks to these epidemiological surveillance measures, today, it has been possible to identify and isolate a case detected among the passengers of a flight from the Kingdom of Spain.

Isolation and quarantine
The Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea has established that all those who come from a high-risk country – with more than 500 diagnosed cases – be immediately quarantined.

If the identified subject presents the common symptoms of COVID-19, which are fever, cough and feeling of shortness of breath, he is transferred to the Isolation Unit of the Malabo Airport. Where the test and biological samples are taken for, in three hours, the Baney Research Laboratory to diagnose whether or not it is a case of Coronavirus.

If there are no symptoms, the subject is transferred to the Hotel Bami – 10 minutes from Malabo Airport – where he is quarantined and tested. After two weeks under observation and a second negative in the test, the person can go home.

Diagnosis and treatment
Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are transferred to the Sampaka Hospital, where there is a perfectly trained team to deal with the Coronavirus and where all the material and equipment for symptomatic treatments are available.

In the face of any suspected case of Coronavirus in the country, the rapid intervention team intervenes, which initiates the epidemiological control investigations. The samples that have tested positive are sent to a center recognized by the World Health Organization for quality control. In the case of the Baney Research Laboratory, it works in coordination with the Pasteur Institute in Cameroon or, failing that, with the Research Centers for viral diseases in Senegal or South Africa.

What to do?
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare asks the population to remain calm, serenity and invites compliance with all preventive measures in force and the protocol established for the individual and collective good.

Communication Office of the Vice Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mitoha Ondo’o Ayekaba