KHARTOUM – Sudan has\nseen a small handful of coronavirus cases so far, and only one death. But\nhealth authorities are concerned because large numbers of people have either\nescaped quarantine or are refusing to quarantine altogether.
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\nTwo weeks have passed since authorities in Sudan confirmed the country\u2019s first\ncase of COVID-19.
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\nSo far, the country has avoided the epidemics seen in Italy, the United States\nand China.
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\nBut health officials are worried, because many people who were possibly exposed\nto the coronavirus are not cooperating with quarantine efforts.
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\nIn one incident, doctors and witnesses said some 300 people left quarantine at\nthe Universal Hospital in Khartoum last week.
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\nIn another, four bus passengers left an isolation center near the border with\nEgypt.
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\nAlfatih Osman, the director of the Ministry of Health, says quarantining can\nstop the spread of the coronavirus, if it is properly carried out.
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\n“It is one of the most important procedures that we will execute. \nIt\u2019s generally proven that any health system can\u2019t respond to the number of the\ninfected people, if people don\u2019t commit to the quarantine. We can\u2019t face\nthe medical needs of the possibly infected people and patients,” Osman\nsaid.
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\nSo far, Africa has seen fewer than 1,000 confirmed case of COVID-19, but global\npublic health experts are concerned about the potential for a wider spread on\nthe continent.
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\nThe World Health Organization has listed Sudan as a risk for a pandemic spread\ndue to a lack of preparatory procedures and health facilities.
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\nIn Khartoum, a group of doctors has launched a public campaign to raise\nawareness of the virus and the steps people must take to avoid infection.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doctors are distributing\nfree hand sanitizers and soap, and giving out information on social media and\nin cars with loudspeakers.
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\nAbeer Dirar, one of the organizers behind the campaign, says as volunteers in\ndefeating the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, they pay attention to the\nimportance of the quarantine to stop the spread in Sudan. She said the country\ndoes not have the logistics to face this disease — there are not enough ICU\nbeds, because of the cumulative destruction of the health system over 30 years.
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\nOn the positive side, Sudan recently received 100,000 face masks, 20,000 test\nkits and 1,000 medical suits from a Chinese business man as a gift. \n
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\nBut local reports say Sudan has only 80 ICU units in both the public and\nprivate sector.
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\nAbout 150 Sudanese students arrived early Friday from the United Arab Emirates\nafter been evacuated from Wuhan province in China, the original epicenter of\nthe pandemic.
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\nThe students, who were quarantined for three weeks in China, refused to be\nquarantined any longer and held a sit-in at the airport, saying they had\nalready tested negative for the virus.
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\nThe Ministry of Health allowed them to return to their homes. But critics say\nif any of them are carrying the virus, they could put Sudan\u2019s health system in\na dire situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Voice of America<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"