3-20 | One week ago Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) started to support the COVID-19 pandemic response at Codogno hospital, where the first Italian case was detected, in the region of Lombardy, northern Italy. Half of the 100 beds in this hospital are currently dedicated to patients receiving care for COVID-19.
3-16 | A case of COVID-19 coronavirus on Lesbos has sparked fresh fears for the health and safety of people trapped in camps on the Greek islands.With unhygienic, cramped living conditions, the threat of an outbreak among people is very real, yet there are no epidemic response plans in place.MSF is urging for the immediate evacuation of the migrants and asylum seekers in the camps in the Greek islands.
3-10 | While the reported number of cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) outside of China is relatively low, preparations to limit the further spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the coronavirus COVID-19 disease, are essential. Dr Tankred Stoebe, MSF emergency coordinator, is currently travelling across southeast Asia to assess how MSF can support health authorities and health facilities prepare for potential outbreaks of COVID-19. He describes his observations with a focus on patient vulnerability and simple control measures, which make a large difference.
3-5 | As part of the response to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the health promotion activities in Hong Kong are in full swing with 11 sessions conducted since February. Our team has reached out to ethnic minorities, migrants and asylum seekers, street cleaners, visually impaired persons, foreign domestic helpers, homeless people and people living in subdivided flats. Meanwhile, the 1 tonne donation of personal protective equipment has been received by Hong Kong St. John Ambulance on Thursday, 5 March.
2-14 | An MSF team in Hong Kong opened a project at the end of January focusing on health education for vulnerable people. Community engagement is a crucial activity of any outbreak response and in Hong Kong, this focuses on groups who are less likely to have access to important medical information, such as the socio-economically disadvantaged.