MINSK, 13 April (BelTA) – Belarus has taken sufficient measures to shield healthcare workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Head of the WHO mission Dr. Patrick O'Connor said following the mission to assess Belarus' efforts to fight the virus, BelTA has learned.
Dr. Patrick O'Connor noted that healthcare workers' safety is a priority. This is why Belarus' efforts and measures, including domestic production of personal protective equipment, are aimed at preventing the spread of infection among medical staff.
“We highlight and welcome the devotion of local organizations to provide equipment for healthcare workers,” Dr. Patrick O'Connor said. At the same time he noted that medical staff disposes enough personal protective equipment and stressed the importance of its production in the country, while there is a lack of such products globally.
International practice shows that medical staff inevitably become first-level contacts. According to the head of the WHO mission, healthcare workers should be educated to protect themselves from catching COVID-19 and be well-equipped. “It is important for them to feel safe,” Dr. Patrick O'Connor stressed.
Belarus' Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik added that medical staff of infectious diseases hospitals are common first-level contacts of the coronavirus infected, but they are protected well. Those healthcare workers who come in contact with other patients, who test positive for the virus only later, risk more. Safety measures have also been ramped up. Healthcare workers also have an opportunity to live separately from their families. Contact centers have been set up in Belarusian regions for medical staff who do not want to put their family members in danger.
The WHO mission worked in Belarus from 8 to 11 April. It arrived in the country at the invitation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko to assess the situation, the measures and approaches to medical care in the country. The WHO experts visited healthcare facilities of Minsk, Minsk Oblast and Vitebsk Oblast. They will issue recommendations.
According to WHO representative to Belarus Batyr Berdyklychev, the WHO mission was free to get all necessary information, talk to specialists and amend the program of the visit. The mission evaluated various aspects of the fight against COVID-19 in Belarus: epidemiological surveillance, work of laboratories, treatment of patients, and infection control measures. The experts met with representatives of not only healthcare facilities, but also the Belarusian Internal Affairs Ministry, the Department of Corrections, and visited the Belarusian Labor and Social Security Ministry.
