Malta’s public health authorities are stepping up their surveillance for the novel coronavirus with an information campaign at transit points intended to detect those who might be suffering from symptoms.
The Superintendent for Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, said the risk to Malta and the rest of Europe remained low.
However, new posters and banners had been placed at key transit hubs such as Malta International Airport, advising travellers coming in from affected areas about the medical symptoms of the disease.
In the sights of the public health service are those who may have started their journey from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the recent coronavirus outbreak.
The virus has now reached Europe, with three cases confirmed in France. French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn confirmed on Friday that they had isolated three people who had recently travelled through Wuhan or contracted it while in France.
She was quoted as saying that more cases were expected to be discovered as one of the patients had been in contact with a dozen people.
A dozen countries around the world have reported cases, including Australia, South Korea, Malaysia and Nepal.
Dr Gauci said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) had been advising national health bodies that providing advice and information campaigns would be more effective than carrying out entry screening on passengers.
The health service is advising travellers arriving in Malta from the affected area in China to call immediately if they are experiencing the symptoms of fever, coughs and a shortness of breath.
“We’re encouraging people who have travelled from these areas and have developed these symptoms within the 14 days of incubation period not to go directly to a primary care clinic, hospital or to a casualty unit. They need to call us,” she said.
A risk assessment would then be carried out to check if the symptoms fit the clinical criteria provided by the ECDC.
The intensifying of Malta’s surveillance of the coronavirus comes as the world responds to the outbreak that emerged in a seafood market in Wuhan China at the beginning of the year.
Over 1,200 cases have been confirmed by the Chinese authorities so far, more than 170 of those considered severe. More than 40 people are reported to have died so far. A lockdown was recently imposed on the city and its 11 million people, to contain its spread.
Dr Gauci said the department’s helpline was being kept busy with calls from people “seeking clarifications or assurances to quell their anxieties about the spread of the disease”.
A document published by the ECDC on Wednesday said that assuming human-tohuman transmission is limited, and that “timely and rigorous infection prevention and control measures are applied to potential imported cases detected in the EU/EEA” the likelihood of further spread in this region is considered low.
Of friends and food
The Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit has received numerous questions on its emergency helpline from Maltese people concerned about the coronavirus. Here are some of them:
I have friends coming over from China. Will I get infected?
It is not the case that anyone who comes in from China may develop this respiratory infection. What is important is that, if these travellers develop symptoms within the first two weeks of arrival, they stay at home, avoid contact with other members of the household and call the public health authorities on the helpline provided. We will assess them and provide guidance. The symptoms to look out for include fever, cough or sore throat, or shortness of breath.
Can I still eat Chinese food?
The coronavirus is not transmitted through food. So it is safe to eat Chinese food if it is cooked well as it may otherwise pose the risk of food poisoning.
If I order products from China and collect them, will I get infected?
The virus spreads from human to human and cannot survive in the environment for more than 24 to 48 hours. Packages and mail usually take much longer to get to Malta so they are safe to collect and open.