Books- Ahmad Juma:
Since last March, Abdulhai Ali (a health observer) has telephoned constantly. It is among the investigative teams assigned by the Ministry of Health to follow up with those infected with Coronavirus, and provide them with health advice to prevent an increase in the number of cases.
Naturally, the matter is not the same as it was in the early days of the pandemic in Egypt. The increase in the number of cases a few weeks ago prompted Abdelhai and those with him to make double efforts; To contain the situation: “We are working 24 hours in the 7 days, I am satisfied all the time. Any statement or contact is required on our program to investigate cases of corona.”
The health observer in Al-Hawamdia city in Giza still remembers the first case of “Corona” that he dealt with, while fear spread in every foothold. She was just returning home from an Umrah trip in early March, and soon developed symptoms; To be transferred to a nearby hospital, she is being diagnosed with a “positive corona” and admitted to Al-Nujaila Hospital for isolation at a time when the Ministry of Health did not leave a single patient without being isolated.
Hence, Abdelhai’s work has already started. He received an indication of the case data, so he went with his team to her residence, and gathered the largest amount of information about the contacts, with their medical debates; To check on their condition: “We took smears from 20 mixes directly or indirectly,” after which he informed them of household isolation for two weeks, with hardened drug distribution for immunity, and later their results were negative. Later, “corona swabs” were no longer performed for contacts, or for many minor cases with minimal symptoms.
For the past two weeks, the investigation team of 5 individuals has been following contacts with home visits or phone calls periodically, but the fear did not have “Abdelhai” from facing “mysterious” Corona “until this time” on the contrary; I was enthusiastic, and I wanted a field of work, and I wanted to provide for my family What reassured him the most was the complete preventive measures that prevented him from appearing without anything “wearing the full protective suit, medical freshness, and guantine.”
With the increase in the number of cases and the Ministry of Health following the strategy of domestic isolation, “Abd al-Hayy” and those who divide their duties were “part of the patients who are contacted by phone and their symptoms are simple, and another part is coordinated to interview them in the field if there are risk factors”, and he repeatedly tries to find out the source of the cases, “if I knew the source of the infection, we appreciate the size of the topic, we may not. “
“Abdel Hay” did not forget that the woman who did not care about her infection with the virus “she has corona and deals with all comfort in a family home”, on his field trip he found her “washing clothes” inside her country house without being isolated.
Initially, he tried to persuade her of the seriousness of what she was doing. “Say it, six. You have a supposed coronation that isolates yourself and applies the instructions.” However, she did not respond while her symptoms were simple, and she does not feel a difference between him and the “cold role” that comes to her every winter. While ignoring the warnings, he spoke to “the chief of the house”, who forced her room to recover, “in which people are not convinced that she has corona, and in it a strange disregard for the disease.”
What disturbs him is the “societal attack and bullying” that he is exposed to in many places, especially when he is in work that requires the wearing of protective clothing. This happened in mid-April when he was following a case in Hawamdiya: “People considered us the same epidemic, and some of them ran to tell us (O Corona Oh Corona), which greatly angered him” The topic is strong in our psyche.
Beside that; Abdelhai analyzes the data received by him and collects it to prepare the “epidemiological curve” for Corona in Hawamdiya, classifying patients according to several categories “their sex, age and whether they have chronic diseases”, as well as implementing the “contact tree”; To track all cases and know the source of infection.
Ahmed Al-Dubeiki, head of the Health Sciences Association, explains that health monitors have a number of functional tasks, among them: monitoring infectious diseases, supervising child vaccinations, and controlling food and potency of drinking water, before Corona comes; Most of them would be included in communicating with patients and following up on their condition day by day.
Al-Dubeiki revealed that the first injury among the medical staff in Corona was for health monitors, when they went on a team that followed the path of injuries of the Luxor ship early last March, as 5 patients, including 3 monitors and 2 laboratory technicians, were injured. “The preventive precautions were not as severe as they were recently.”
Hotline for contacts
From Giza to Assiut, the situation was close in dealing with surveillance and investigation teams with Corona cases, but health observer Salah Hammam considered facilitating more for patients with the increase in the number of cases recently, so he allocated with his management a hotline; To follow them around the clock, “We will not be able to follow all cases on the ground, and we have endeavored to allocate No. (01060603745) to receive all inquiries at the Directorate.”
In Assiut, 13 health departments, “Hammam” supervises the Sharq administration, and he was from the team that dealt with the first confirmed “corona” case, after symptoms appeared for days, and as soon as they received their data until a dedicated team of doctors and health monitors was prepared, and they went on Immediately to the case’s house: “We followed the direct and indirect contacts and his itinerary in the last 14 days, who visited him and went to Maine and wrote all the data.”
The team knew the source of the first case of infection, and through them they followed the second case of one of its employees, “We discovered that he was coming from Cairo and he showed symptoms, and by tracking contacts, a second case appeared that does not reside with him directly at home”, and therefore looks at the importance of data obtained from tracking patients in linking Sequence of infected cases.
Concurrently, the house of the affected case is sterilized and disinfected, “We try to appease the people and tell them to cleanse the place every period, while sticking to the hand, washing hands, and domestic isolation,” according to Hammam.
Days later, the team discovered 9 cases of corona within a single building, “the first thread was infected, and, accordingly, a population debate, 9 of them were suspected, we took smears, rays were made, and their infection was confirmed.” He feels that his team has great experience in identifying and identifying cases of infection before the surveys are conducted. “After the great experience that we have gained, we can evaluate the cases from their general form,” he added.
“Hammam” complains of some patients feeling “stigmatization” after their injury, which leads them to request not to attend the investigation team “There are fearful people that we are entering them, especially when we are wearing a protective suit, they tell us a militant now or Almighty at night, or wear at the entrance to the architecture” . In all cases, he tries to reassure them and implement what keeps their secret, and not to harm them.
Sometimes, Hammam and his team turn to bed in an isolation hospital when their symptoms worsen alarmingly. He succeeds at times, and his attempts are dispelled at other times. “Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of places, so the priority is for critical cases,” with the number of contacts exceeding 400.
Weeks ago, Hammam felt minor symptoms similar to “Corona”, and he suspected that he had the virus “I took the role, and the source of infection was from a condition I went to at home”, and he was subjected to domestic isolation until the symptoms disappeared and he recovered and returned to his work again: “Whatever you do and be Your procedures are strong, you are vulnerable to infection all the time. “
On the other hand, Abdel-Ati Shaban has been working as a health observer in Kobry Al-Abed area in Al-Buhaira for 4 years, known by the distant and proximal by virtue of his permanent mixing with them, as he undertakes child vaccinations and monitors infectious diseases, and this was a double-edged sword in his new mission. To her and collect their data, but that puts additional pressure on him from his hometowns who want to know the injured, contrary to what he believes in keeping patients confidential.
This position has necessitated him since the first two cases he followed on last June 8 in the scope of his unit, and immediately called them to inform them of his presence, “I wore the sashes, the head guard, the muzzle, and we went home.” The sun was blazing in the afternoon on a hot day, and most of the villagers were at home, and the team saw no one.
He collected the data, knew the source of the infection, and a lady was attending condolences in Kafr El-Sheikh, spending the treatment with those who had contact, and the team cleansed the house, and once it ended until inquiries began between the people of his town about the case and its details: The past did not tell anyone who she is. “
Recently, the follow-up of home isolation patients became one of the basics of Shaaban’s work, so they formed a team to supervise them “unit doctor and nurse and I follow them daily”, after many cases were obliged to home isolation if their injury was minor or moderate.
Returnees from abroad are also part of the work of health monitors, they have a follow-up program for those coming from abroad and it is connected with all ports, ports, land, sea, and air in Egypt: “When any return comes to the homeland, we follow it for a period of 28 days to monitor for any symptoms that may appear on it with the necessary preventive instructions given.” .
Shaaban is concerned that people know the tasks of his work: “I am not just an employee in the unit.” Basically it tracks the 40 infectious diseases such as: “tuberculosis, measles, tetanus, pertussis and anthrax” before it is added to it. As well as food control, environmental health and health education, “our role is great in all crises.”
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