Open AccessOutbreak response management of a COVID-19 patient diagnosed on an open ward in Singapore
Author(s) -
Surinder Pada
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of infection control
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1996-9783
pISSN - 1816-6296
DOI - 10.3396/ijic.v16i1.003.20
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , isolation (microbiology) , hygiene , outbreak , transmission (telecommunications) , risk stratification , dengue fever , medical emergency , emergency medicine , intensive care medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , virology , disease , pathology , electrical engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , engineering
We describe events leading to and actions taken to address a newly diagnosed COVID-19 case, admitted as dengue on the general ward. A risk Stratification strategy of patients into high, medium and low risk was considered for the isolation and COVID-19 swabbing strategies. Additional measures for cleaning and ward lockdown were also employed. There were a total of 191 exposures; 68 staff, 39 inpatients and the rest were community contacts. There was no transmission of COVID-19 in the 14 days following exposure, suggesting that a universal surgical mask and hand hygiene strategy in place at that time was sufficient in preventing transmission. The built environment of adequate bed-space and natural ventilation were other important considerations.