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CORONAVIRUS- Update on the situation in Benin
The Minister of Health, Mr. Benjamin HOUNKPATIN made this interview, the situation in Benin about the global epidemic of Coronavirus after the announcement of a case detected in Togo.
INTERVIEWS
TODAY
Professor Benjamin HOUNKPATIN, neighboring country Togo has just registered his first case of Coronavirus.
The infected person would have passed through our country. You confirm?
Effectively. We have had information from the Country Representation of the World Health Organization (WHO) that neighboring Togo has indeed had a confirmed case of Coronavirus. It is indeed a 42 year old lady who landed in Cotonou, who stayed in a hotel, saw some parents before leaving for Lom?.
Can we have an idea about the contacts that the lady had once arrived in Benin?
As soon as we have this kind of case, we realize what we call a SitRep, ie a report situation which allows us to trace the whole circuit and identify all the contacts. So, we already had the telephone contacts of the parents in Benin and we are in the process of locating them all because we have to trace them all and trace all the contacts they may have had also in order to proceed to quarantine and monitoring for 14 days to make sure they are not also developing the disease. This is done and all the rapid intervention teams that we have at the Atlantic and Littoral level have already been deployed and are on the job to fully finalize the identification of all these contact cases.
And when will quarantine take place?
Quarantine has already started. As we identify the contacts, quarantine is carried out immediately and this allows us to control the situation and the movement of these people.
What is the geographic position of these contacts?
We have contacts mainly in the Calavi area. We have an exact location of these contacts and we retrace in an excuse-me police way, (it is the public health police), the route of these contacts also to find them as much as possible. There is also the hotel where she stayed where we also established all the contacts she may have had.
How to assess today the reliability of the device that you had put in place since the occurrence of this virus?
As you can see, the support system is already in place and already solid enough. Compared to the identification of cases of course, as I already had, the rest is really the civic will of each individual to avoid contaminating his fellow citizens. Because when you have been in a country at risk, apart from the fact that you can identify yourself, it would be necessary that the self-isolation which is well explained at the airport, with the self-isolation plan which is studied individually with each traveler having been in a country at risk, despite this sometimes, there are some who do not respect these principles. I really appeal to the spirit of responsibility, to the civic spirit of each citizen,
And then the situation at the borders is almost uncontrollable because of the porosity of these spaces. What is it in practice?
The border situation is complex. It is true that we have deployed agents at all of our terrestrial borders who are present with thermo flashes, that is to say thermometers that look like pistols to take the temperature in a systematic way and systematically carry out the washing gesture hands with a chlorine solution thus allowing to accustom those who pass to this gesture. But beyond that, it must also be recognized that when the subject has no signs, this whole device is inoperative. Since afterwards, when the subject knows that he has been exposed, when he shows signs of having been in a risk zone, he must be able to so we can take care of it.
Can you remind us of what to do about this crisis?
For subjects who are at the level of Benin, the first behavior to adopt is really hand washing. It is the simplest gesture and the one that will preserve us the most. You should always wash your hands with soap and water regularly each time you have made contact, you must do so. Do not hesitate to multiply it as many times and even to become paranoid at the limit. You have to wash your hands. The second measure is to avoid shaking hands . You no longer need to shake hands because the hand-held contact can be a source of transmission of germs. Avoid when you are sick and coughing, that you have a cold, that you have a sore throat and thatwe should systematically cover our mouths before sneezing, either with a tissue or by wearing a bib that protects both the nose and the mouth and then take care to dispose of them properly, ie in a trash can those handkerchiefs and bibs. If you do not have them at hand, you can cough in the crook of the elbow which prevents hands from being contaminated. Apart from that, there is food. You have to cook all that is meat, cook everything that is egg, avoid handling wild animals and consuming them these days. Obviously and when you have been in a risk zone and you come back and during the trip there are signs, you should not hesitate. It is necessary to automatically alert the personnel on board to get a bib first and to be taken care of. These measures concern the subjects that are with us. But when a subject travels and returns to our country, there are simple measures to take. Already at the airport control level, you have to declare yourself. Even if we have the flight manifesto which allows us to verify the origin of each of the travelers, we must also have this reflex to be able to say yes indeed I have been in this or that country.
The second thing when you have not passed through the airport and you have crossed a land border and entered the territory there are three numbers that you can call. It is 95.36.11.07, 51.02.00.00 and 51.04.00.00. When you call these numbers, you have all the information about what to do with regard to the fact that you may have been exposed while going to a country at risk. And when you leave the border points and go to your home, you put yourself in self-isolation because self-isolation is fundamental. It consists of simply defining a plan so as not to come into contact with others.
The last time we received someone who came from Milan. At home they have two floors. He has reserved the first floor and the children are downstairs. Everyone defines their self-isolation plan individually. And we accompany them in that. Health workers go to check how it is going for the 14 days. When the fever comes during this self-isolation and we start by coughing, then we must systematically call the SAMU at 95.36.11.02, 95.36.11.04 .
Do not go especially to a health center, a pharmacy or a healer. We call, we isolate ourselves and the SAMU picks you up to take you to the isolation site.
Coronavirus, can we cure it?
Fortunately, the Coronavirus is what is the good news, 85% among us will feel it like a big cold that natural immunity will allow to cure naturally. There are 15% who for various reasons related to their immunity or who have pathologies which cause an immune deficiency, will develop much more serious forms. Of this lot, 2 to 3% today compared to the statistics we have today will die. To cure it yes and the proofs are there. There is 50% healing compared to the figures that are recorded in the world. So it's pretty reassuring.
A message to reassure our compatriots panicked and others?
I would like to reassure them by saying that the Government has taken the measure of things and has put in place the necessary mechanism so that we can ensure proper care. Apart from the site of the national police academy, there are two other sites which are currently being set up in Abomey-Calavi and in Natitingou. So it is to have sufficient capacity to cope. Prevention is better than cure. Apart from that I would like to reassure them that you just have to respect the measures that have been prescribed to protect yourself from the Coronavirus Covid-19.
Thank you.
https://www.gouv.bj/actualite/541/co...tion-au-benin/
CORONAVIRUS- Update on the situation in Benin
The Minister of Health, Mr. Benjamin HOUNKPATIN made this interview, the situation in Benin about the global epidemic of Coronavirus after the announcement of a case detected in Togo.
INTERVIEWS
TODAY
Professor Benjamin HOUNKPATIN, neighboring country Togo has just registered his first case of Coronavirus.
The infected person would have passed through our country. You confirm?
Effectively. We have had information from the Country Representation of the World Health Organization (WHO) that neighboring Togo has indeed had a confirmed case of Coronavirus. It is indeed a 42 year old lady who landed in Cotonou, who stayed in a hotel, saw some parents before leaving for Lom?.
Can we have an idea about the contacts that the lady had once arrived in Benin?
As soon as we have this kind of case, we realize what we call a SitRep, ie a report situation which allows us to trace the whole circuit and identify all the contacts. So, we already had the telephone contacts of the parents in Benin and we are in the process of locating them all because we have to trace them all and trace all the contacts they may have had also in order to proceed to quarantine and monitoring for 14 days to make sure they are not also developing the disease. This is done and all the rapid intervention teams that we have at the Atlantic and Littoral level have already been deployed and are on the job to fully finalize the identification of all these contact cases.
And when will quarantine take place?
Quarantine has already started. As we identify the contacts, quarantine is carried out immediately and this allows us to control the situation and the movement of these people.
What is the geographic position of these contacts?
We have contacts mainly in the Calavi area. We have an exact location of these contacts and we retrace in an excuse-me police way, (it is the public health police), the route of these contacts also to find them as much as possible. There is also the hotel where she stayed where we also established all the contacts she may have had.
How to assess today the reliability of the device that you had put in place since the occurrence of this virus?
As you can see, the support system is already in place and already solid enough. Compared to the identification of cases of course, as I already had, the rest is really the civic will of each individual to avoid contaminating his fellow citizens. Because when you have been in a country at risk, apart from the fact that you can identify yourself, it would be necessary that the self-isolation which is well explained at the airport, with the self-isolation plan which is studied individually with each traveler having been in a country at risk, despite this sometimes, there are some who do not respect these principles. I really appeal to the spirit of responsibility, to the civic spirit of each citizen,
And then the situation at the borders is almost uncontrollable because of the porosity of these spaces. What is it in practice?
The border situation is complex. It is true that we have deployed agents at all of our terrestrial borders who are present with thermo flashes, that is to say thermometers that look like pistols to take the temperature in a systematic way and systematically carry out the washing gesture hands with a chlorine solution thus allowing to accustom those who pass to this gesture. But beyond that, it must also be recognized that when the subject has no signs, this whole device is inoperative. Since afterwards, when the subject knows that he has been exposed, when he shows signs of having been in a risk zone, he must be able to so we can take care of it.
Can you remind us of what to do about this crisis?
For subjects who are at the level of Benin, the first behavior to adopt is really hand washing. It is the simplest gesture and the one that will preserve us the most. You should always wash your hands with soap and water regularly each time you have made contact, you must do so. Do not hesitate to multiply it as many times and even to become paranoid at the limit. You have to wash your hands. The second measure is to avoid shaking hands . You no longer need to shake hands because the hand-held contact can be a source of transmission of germs. Avoid when you are sick and coughing, that you have a cold, that you have a sore throat and thatwe should systematically cover our mouths before sneezing, either with a tissue or by wearing a bib that protects both the nose and the mouth and then take care to dispose of them properly, ie in a trash can those handkerchiefs and bibs. If you do not have them at hand, you can cough in the crook of the elbow which prevents hands from being contaminated. Apart from that, there is food. You have to cook all that is meat, cook everything that is egg, avoid handling wild animals and consuming them these days. Obviously and when you have been in a risk zone and you come back and during the trip there are signs, you should not hesitate. It is necessary to automatically alert the personnel on board to get a bib first and to be taken care of. These measures concern the subjects that are with us. But when a subject travels and returns to our country, there are simple measures to take. Already at the airport control level, you have to declare yourself. Even if we have the flight manifesto which allows us to verify the origin of each of the travelers, we must also have this reflex to be able to say yes indeed I have been in this or that country.
The second thing when you have not passed through the airport and you have crossed a land border and entered the territory there are three numbers that you can call. It is 95.36.11.07, 51.02.00.00 and 51.04.00.00. When you call these numbers, you have all the information about what to do with regard to the fact that you may have been exposed while going to a country at risk. And when you leave the border points and go to your home, you put yourself in self-isolation because self-isolation is fundamental. It consists of simply defining a plan so as not to come into contact with others.
The last time we received someone who came from Milan. At home they have two floors. He has reserved the first floor and the children are downstairs. Everyone defines their self-isolation plan individually. And we accompany them in that. Health workers go to check how it is going for the 14 days. When the fever comes during this self-isolation and we start by coughing, then we must systematically call the SAMU at 95.36.11.02, 95.36.11.04 .
Do not go especially to a health center, a pharmacy or a healer. We call, we isolate ourselves and the SAMU picks you up to take you to the isolation site.
Coronavirus, can we cure it?
Fortunately, the Coronavirus is what is the good news, 85% among us will feel it like a big cold that natural immunity will allow to cure naturally. There are 15% who for various reasons related to their immunity or who have pathologies which cause an immune deficiency, will develop much more serious forms. Of this lot, 2 to 3% today compared to the statistics we have today will die. To cure it yes and the proofs are there. There is 50% healing compared to the figures that are recorded in the world. So it's pretty reassuring.
A message to reassure our compatriots panicked and others?
I would like to reassure them by saying that the Government has taken the measure of things and has put in place the necessary mechanism so that we can ensure proper care. Apart from the site of the national police academy, there are two other sites which are currently being set up in Abomey-Calavi and in Natitingou. So it is to have sufficient capacity to cope. Prevention is better than cure. Apart from that I would like to reassure them that you just have to respect the measures that have been prescribed to protect yourself from the Coronavirus Covid-19.
Thank you.
https://www.gouv.bj/actualite/541/co...tion-au-benin/
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