At a meeting held today at Larnaca airport, it was agreed that the procedure to be followed at the airports of Cyprus with the aim of locating travelers coming from China or who traveled to the country in the last two weeks, to deal with any incidents of the new coronavirus.
Speaking after the meeting, which lasted about two hours, Elisabeth Konstantinou, Director of Medical Services and Public Health Services of the Ministry of Health, said that the meeting was requested by the Ministry of Health "with the aim of coordinating all relevant services for travelers. concerns the issue of the new coronavirus ".
"We have agreed on the procedure under which selected` screening` of travelers visiting China or coming from the specific country to Cyprus will be done. "
He added that "it is a process that will start with informing the authorities, people who obtain visas to visit or return from China and then will be examined by nursing staff at airports with specific instructions."
Answering a relevant question, Ms. Konstantinou said that "at the moment we have not talked about the installation of thermal cameras. "Because at this time there are many viruses and flu, this issue will be studied at a later stage."
Asked what would happen if a coronavirus case was detected, he replied that "we have drawn up a plan in accordance with the instructions of the World Health Organization and the European Center for Infections and Diseases."
"The issue is complicated, however, the Organization of Public Health Services has been activated, with which we are in full coordination so that the incident can be managed," he added.
Asked whether there will be nurses at the airport, Ms. Konstantinou replied that "we have already strengthened the airport clinics with medical and nursing staff in cooperation with OKYPY so that they can cope".
More specifically, he said, there is a questionnaire that concerns both the epidemiological data of the traveler, the areas he has visited and the clinical points, ie if there are clinical points and some instructions, among which for 14 days some self-monitoring should be done for people. which are symptom free. In case they show any of the specific symptoms then they should be directed to specific points ".
To other questions he answered that "there is another process for the situation in the ports of Cyprus, we are in contact with the port authorities and we are in progress to perfect it".
He added that on a daily basis the Ministry of Health is in contact with the World Health Organization and other European countries, "we read all the instructions and reports issued by the competent European bodies in order to faithfully follow the standards."
Asked to comment on the World Health Organization Director's visit to Beijing, Ms Konstantinou said: "Certainly the collection of information and data is very important for decisions to be made. The competent bodies try to have as accurate and complete information as possible so that they can make their final decisions ".
It is noted that in case a person has the clinical symptoms of coronavirus, he will be examined by the medical staff of the airport, he will then be examined by an infectious disease specialist, he will wear a mask on his face and then he will be transported by ambulance to Nicosia General Hospital for further treatment. suitable rooms for catastrophic infectious diseases.
The meeting was attended by officials of the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, Hermes Airports, the managing company of Cyprus airports, representatives of airlines that bring tourists to Cyprus from Cyprus or that operate flights to and from China, OKYPY, the Aliens Service Immigration, the Police, the Fire Brigade and the Ambulance Service, the Airport Management Services, the Larnaca Hospital and the Civil Aviation.
Source: KYPE