Is the Belarusian Health Care Sector Ready for Coronavirus?

A professional physician tells about the weakest points of the system created by Lukashenka.

Yesterday the first case of coronavirus was registered in Belarus. On February 27, tests of the Republican Scientific Practical Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology detected coronavirus 2019-nCoV in a BNTU student in Minsk.

A professional physician and activist of the European Belarus civic campaign, Alena Tsereshkova, told Charter97.org whether Belarusian doctors are ready for the coronavirus and how to fight the disease.

- How would you comment on the authorities' statements regarding the first coronavirus case? Are they ready to fight the epidemic?

- The fact is that it is difficult to resist the epidemic. It's more complex to do in Belarus because we do not have complete information. The authorities can hide information by habit, while we, the people of Belarus, will have information from different sources, as it always happens under such epidemics. Both doctors and the authorities will be accused of making no efforts. They are made, but their arsenal is very limited. Since the symptoms of coronavirus are similar to other viral infections, at the stage when the disease has only revealed itself, we cannot determine exactly which virus caused the disease.

In terms of measures, all medical facilities have received protocols on actions to take. First of all, we have to interview a patient and find out if one has contacted potential virus carriers, if one was abroad, whether one contacted patients with a confirmed diagnosis. If the answer is positive, there is a protocol where to place these patients and what steps to take.

Some people felt weak. They cannot be examined for coronavirus at once, especially since even the most advanced tests require several hours to get an answer.

One should expect the number of those sick to increase quite rapidly. Everyone should protect himself, keep to individual protection measures, as during an epidemic. This means to wash your hands, avoid crowds, watch your health, be well-dressed, keep the body warm to minimize the risk.

- Now the quarantine in Minsk infectious diseases hospital has been declared. Will it be able to cope alone? Wuhan, for example, even built new hospitals.

- This hospital is not expected to be the only one. Many institutions suspend the planned hospitalization. For example, the 6th Minsk hospital has allocated beds as a reserve in case the disease will expand more rapidly than expected. Medics are preparing.

- Yesterday, masks disappeared in pharmacies in a few hours. Will society cope with such frenzy? What should we do in such a situation?

- First, the most effective thing to do with a mask is to put it on a sick person. As a preventive measure, the mask does not work very well. You can put it on, but it is uncomfortable. At the same time, every person next to us today should be considered as potentially ill. Therefore, it is logical to wear a mask in the crowd. It makes sense, but if you have a sick relative - you must wear a mask.

Besides, the mask of factory production has two layers and is effective for about two hours. Disposable masks cannot be washed, so you cannot buy a mask for the entire period of the epidemic. But one can sew several masks if you have to work with people, and in the evening to wash them: six-layer gauze masks can protect you for 3-4 hours. Conclusion: take care of yourself and don't expect anyone to come and say - here are masks for you.

- In dictatorial regimes, officials and leaders, in the medical sphere as well, are afraid to show initiative. Will it make an impact on the fighting coronavirus?

- The initiative is good on the one hand, but on the other, it can be bad. The whole world adheres to adopted protocols, which are recognized to be the most effective. New challenges are possible and the protocols should change then.

Only news blackout can be condemned here if there are any. Not scientific-based initiatives are also not the best variant. The information must be open.

- The Iranian authorities concealed coronavirus cases in the country, and the Belarusian regime also has such a tendency. Can it make an impact on the development of the epidemic situation?

- Belarus and Iran have common problems - dictatorship and lack of transparency of the authorities before the society. Therefore, such a risk exists.

At the same time, doctors take a practical view of the situation. They constantly analyze it and provide with diagnostic tools. We are told what we should do and how we should examine patients and people suspected of this infection. I see no reason to panic today.

Yeah, people will get sick. Someone will die. But it'll probably have to do with the health state, not the authorities. We already know that elderly people, people with chronic diseases are at risk. It has always been common with any viral infection. Unfortunately, there will be losses.

Therefore, the task of the authorities is to control panic and constantly engage in sanitary education. If it is done and epidemiological measures are carried out, it should be enough to avoid the disaster.

- In Iran, high-ranking officials were infected and died. How can the situation develop in this sense in Belarus?

- The virus does not care. It won't look in your passport, check up the nationality and social class. Those who do not wash hands and who is sneezed and coughed in the face will get infected. But the first to get infected is the one who is afraid the most. Fear weakens the immune system.

- What weak point can the coronavirus reveal in the Belarusian health care system?

- The weak point of our medicine is that it is closed to people. Information protection is a tool of the same dictatorship and a result of the lack of free press. People will be dissatisfied with the answers, and it will cause problems in the healthcare sector. There will be a lot of complaints, scandals, tense moments that distract doctors from their work.

As for financial safety, there should be enough soap and hot water for everyone to wash their hands. I think no specific medication for the virus is offered so far. But general medication, as well as disinfection therapy, should be enough. At the same time, I would like to see good beds and windows in hospitals. Otherwise, it's harder for people to get well. I wanted doctors to work with normal load, because if now paediatricians and therapists start working overtime; it means that they can carry the infection. I wish that everything would be done wisely and no one would force us to do extra work under absence of additional resources.

- There was information that BNTU is being transferred to an individual training program. Are these measures correct?

- This is a very wise approach. We know that students study in large groups. It's a good place to be infected. The only thing students should understand is that this is not holidays, but a time for self-education. There shouldn't be any problems. When institutions make this decision, they simultaneously develop a plan to eliminate these arrears. Even if now they announce holidays and students study in the summer, it will be justified too.

It is also worth considering whether free attendance at schools should be adopted. I wonder whether I take my children to school or look for other opportunities until the disease passes.

- What would you advise to do?

- The situation is not as bad as it may seem when you read on the Internet. The common hygiene precautions not to get sick from hypothermia, medication prescribed in case of chronic diseases can save you. If the body is in favourable conditions, there is less risk to get sick. One should miss sales or a visit to the cinema house. Everyone will decide on one own whether to go abroad or not. But if you have the opportunity not to test your fortune, stay at home. Maybe it's a sign or coincidence that you have something to do at home.

The major thing is to take responsibility when we see that a person is sick. First of all, we would like to address our employers. Be loyal to your employees. Take care of them. Sending one on sick leave, you may keep the whole department healthy. There shouldn't be a person who writes reports and spread bacteria around him. If you can, you should find a substitute. If we help each other, we'll get through more than one challenge. And not just this one.

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