A general practitioner in Kruisem, East Flanders, may have infected more than a hundred patients with the corona virus by not wearing a mouth mask during consultations. The municipality is now headlongly organizing tests for affected patients.
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Earlier it was announced that Kruisem would set up an additional test center, after the number of infections in the municipality suddenly rose sharply. The cause of this increase now appears to lie with the GP of the infected residents: LG apparently held consultations in recent weeks without taking the necessary precautions, such as (correctly) wearing a mouth mask.
Pillory
This became apparent after the doctor in question took a positive test himself a few days ago. ‘We were informed of this. Immediately, all treated patients were considered high-risk contacts. It concerns dozens of people, ”said Mayor Joop Verzele. ‘Not following the mouth mask directive is incomprehensible and irresponsible. All patients involved have now been informed by the contact investigators and must be tested. ‘
According to Verzele, the conscious GP is well aware of the grave mistake he has made. He admitted he didn’t wear a face mask. I don’t want to shame him, but you can certainly expect more from medical care providers. ‘
Test center established
Kruisem hastily set up a corona testing center in the De Griffel meeting center in the Ouwegem district. ‘Of course it was all hands on deck to have enough test capacity as soon as possible’, Mayor Verzele emphasizes. ‘With the test center, we also want to increase the capacity for corona tests in the region and reduce the pressure on other test centers.’
‘We contacted that person from the services and asked for the list of all the people involved. All those people are now being contacted. We have opened a test center in one of our municipal halls in collaboration with the family doctor’s circle and the public health service, ‘says the mayor.
About a hundred people will now be tested in the temporary center. The municipality hopes to limit further spread in this way. ‘It is being followed up very quickly’, says Mayor Verzele. Although he does fear some new corona cases. What will happen to the doctor and whether he will be reprimanded is not yet clear. “I’m not going to shame anyone about a person who may have made mistakes in the performance of their profession,” says the mayor. He adds that other people are authorized to act if necessary.
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