How HCW is responding to the COVID-19 outbreak
How you can help: The Child Reintegration Centre and Mercy Hospital are providing the villages they serve with hygiene supplies to help stem the spread of disease, including hand washing stations, soap, disposable towels (serviettes), and dust bins. The CRC will help the most vulnerable families get through this crisis by providing them with half bags of rice, enough to sustain a family of four or five for a month. To contribute to our COVID response, click on the link below.
Sierra Leone, like the rest of the developing world, is deeply affected by the worldwide pandemic. (See the most up to date information about infection and death rates here: www.bing.com/covid/local/sierraleone.) Although COVID infections are concentrated in the population center of Freetown, the virus is present in most districts. The Sierra Leonean government closed schools in March and issued a shelter at home order with a prohibition on cross-district travel. Because the memory of the Ebola crisis is very fresh in the collective conscious of Sierra Leone, there is understandably much fear and apprehension about this new pandemic. The Child Reintegration Centre and Mercy Hospital are on the front lines addressing the needs and concerns of the community, providing education, practical care, and food supplementation. Here at HCW, we are meeting with our partners in Sierra Leone regularly via Zoom and WhatsApp. We will continue to adjust plans as we receive more information.
CHILD REINTEGRATION CENTRE: During lock down/shelter at home periods, most of the CRC staff are working part time from home, and part time sharing shifts in the CRC offices. Case managers have been issued laptops and mobile hotspot devices to allow them to remain connected to each other and HCW. Additional phone top-up has been provided to the case management team so that they can conduct case calls via telephone. When permitted, the case managers will visit children and families at their homes weekly to check in on them and provide support and guidance. This is an increase over their normal monthly visits, but the team believes that these families will need more frequent connection. During calls and visits, case managers will share tips for keeping safe during the pandemic (social distancing, frequent hand washing, etc.) and offer guidance to parents and children for how to manage feelings of isolation and fear. The CRC is considering how to help students not fall behind in their education during school closing. Students who are slated to take the upcoming BECE or WASSCE exams have been given practice exams to study while school is in recess. UPDATE: the government has announced that school will reopen for students who are scheduled to take promotional exams.
MERCY HOSPITAL: The clinical staff have received COVID-19 training and are prepared to share PPE equipment with the hospital's HIV department, which they will wear for triage. Regular patients will be seen from 8 AM to 4 PM. After 4PM, the staff will see only emergency cases such as obstetrics emergencies. During regular hours, if a patient presents with two symptoms and two or more risk factors, they will be isolated near the triage room for assessment by staff in PPE. If COVID is suspected, the staff will call for an ambulance from Bo Government Hospital for transport to a COVID-19 treatment centre.
COUNTRY DATA (www.one.org/africa/about/policy-analysis/covid-19-tracker)
Health
Food security
CHILD REINTEGRATION CENTRE: During lock down/shelter at home periods, most of the CRC staff are working part time from home, and part time sharing shifts in the CRC offices. Case managers have been issued laptops and mobile hotspot devices to allow them to remain connected to each other and HCW. Additional phone top-up has been provided to the case management team so that they can conduct case calls via telephone. When permitted, the case managers will visit children and families at their homes weekly to check in on them and provide support and guidance. This is an increase over their normal monthly visits, but the team believes that these families will need more frequent connection. During calls and visits, case managers will share tips for keeping safe during the pandemic (social distancing, frequent hand washing, etc.) and offer guidance to parents and children for how to manage feelings of isolation and fear. The CRC is considering how to help students not fall behind in their education during school closing. Students who are slated to take the upcoming BECE or WASSCE exams have been given practice exams to study while school is in recess. UPDATE: the government has announced that school will reopen for students who are scheduled to take promotional exams.
MERCY HOSPITAL: The clinical staff have received COVID-19 training and are prepared to share PPE equipment with the hospital's HIV department, which they will wear for triage. Regular patients will be seen from 8 AM to 4 PM. After 4PM, the staff will see only emergency cases such as obstetrics emergencies. During regular hours, if a patient presents with two symptoms and two or more risk factors, they will be isolated near the triage room for assessment by staff in PPE. If COVID is suspected, the staff will call for an ambulance from Bo Government Hospital for transport to a COVID-19 treatment centre.
COUNTRY DATA (www.one.org/africa/about/policy-analysis/covid-19-tracker)
Health
- Hospital Beds (per 10K people): 4
- Life Expectancy (years): 54.3
- Share of Population Living in Extreme Poverty: 40.1 %
- Population Density: 106 (per sq. km.)
- Total Population: 7,813,215
- Median Age: 19.4 (years)
Food security
- Food Inflation (%): 16.6 (latest: 30 May 2020)
- Proportion of people with insufficient food intake: 53.2 (latest: 02 Jul 2020)
- Children (under 5) with acute malnutrition (%): 9.5
- Children (under 5) with chronic malnutrition (%): 37.8
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A message from Jinnah Lahai, Mercy Hospital Administrator:
"To prepare for the possibility of COVID-19 positive patients presenting at Mercy Hospital, Dr. Rashid and the lab team are setting up the research lab consistent with Ebola protocols. We have formed a task force comprised of highly experienced medical personnel in preparation for handling any suspected cases. We have reviewed our triage form to include the signs and symptoms of COVID. Hand sanitizing stations are positioned at all strategic entry points. A steel gate has been erected at the main entrance into the ward to reinforce patient and staff safety.
Above all, God has been put first at Mercy by setting up a special six man intercessory team. For the past weeks fasting and prayers have been observed on scheduled dates set by the team. With God by our side, we are on course. Thank you for your concern. "
"To prepare for the possibility of COVID-19 positive patients presenting at Mercy Hospital, Dr. Rashid and the lab team are setting up the research lab consistent with Ebola protocols. We have formed a task force comprised of highly experienced medical personnel in preparation for handling any suspected cases. We have reviewed our triage form to include the signs and symptoms of COVID. Hand sanitizing stations are positioned at all strategic entry points. A steel gate has been erected at the main entrance into the ward to reinforce patient and staff safety.
Above all, God has been put first at Mercy by setting up a special six man intercessory team. For the past weeks fasting and prayers have been observed on scheduled dates set by the team. With God by our side, we are on course. Thank you for your concern. "
Global COVID tracker
Click here for the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation's COVID updates.
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Health Alert: U.S. Embassy Freetown (April 1, 2020)
Location: Sierra Leone (countrywide) Event: Nationwide Lockdown, Sunday to Tuesday, April 5-7 Sierra Leone has recorded its first cases of COVID-19. President Bio declared a state of emergency and has convened the Government of Sierra Leone COVID-19 response team. There will be a nationwide lockdown on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, April 5-7. All individuals in Sierra Leone are required to stay at home during this three-day period. Saturday, April 4 is National Cleaning Day and restrictions on movement will be in place Saturday morning. Please monitor local media sources for information on any additional restrictions that will be put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. Embassy will send updates as information is confirmed. Rumors spread rapidly on social media. We encourage you to visit the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health website for COVID information. The U.S Embassy in Freetown is working to facilitate a special flight through Satguru Travel Agency for U.S. citizens and those eligible to travel to or transit through the U.S. U.S visa holders also are eligible to purchase tickets on this flight, but priority will be given to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. You must have a valid visa before purchasing a ticket. The consular section is closed for routine consular services and is not able to process visa applications at this time. The potential flight—ASKY/Ethiopian Airways—will transit through Lomé en route to Newark, New Jersey. The flight will be tentatively scheduled to depart on Friday, April 10th. This is subject to change. U.S. citizens who live in or seek to travel to the United States should arrange for immediate departure to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain in place for an indefinite period. Further flight cancellations and suspensions can occur with little or no warning, making availability limited and unpredictable. Your travel plans may be severely disrupted, and you may be forced to remain outside of the United States for an indefinite time frame. |
Sierra Leone confirms first case of COVID-19
WHO Africa Freetown, 31/3/2020 The Ministry of Health and Sanitation of the Republic of Sierra Leone has reported the country’s first case of COVID-19. Samples tested at the Military 34 Hospital, and two other accredited laboratories to detect the virus, in the capital Freetown turned out positive on the evening of 30 March 2020. The patient, a 37-year-old Sierra Leonean Male, had travelled to France on 12 March 2020. He returned on 16 March 2020 and was immediately put in mandatory managed quarantine for 14 days. He was tested at the end of his quarantine period when he developed flu-like symptoms that subsequently led to the confirmation as COVID-19. “We have now shifted from preparedness to response. We must now focus on tracing the people that the patient may have come in contact with to be able to isolate and provide them with medical care,” said Evans Liyosi, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Sierra Leone. “The coming days and weeks will be crucial. With robust prevention and treatment measures we can stop widespread infections not only in the capital but across the country. We are working with the health authorities and other partners, providing the support needed to adequately tackle the virus,” said Mr Liyosi. Since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared, WHO has provided technical and material support to countries in Africa. The Organization has supplied personal protective equipment for health workers and other essential equipment for screening and handling suspect cases at airports and other points of entry. Here in Sierra Leone, there have been focused public health and additional interventions instituted to promote prompt case identification and confirmation, protection of frontline health workers and screening of travelers. While there is still much to learn about COVID-19, people can take actions to prevent the disease through simple, day-to-day measures. These include regular hand washing with soap and water; coughing into a tissue or a bent elbow, being sure to safely dispose of the tissue afterwards; maintaining a social distance, particularly from individuals coughing; avoiding hand shaking, touching the eyes, nose and mouth; and seeking medical attention early if a person develops a fever or cough. |
