ARCHIVED - Possible coronavirus patients in Murcia advised to ring the 112 line rather than going to A&E

Protocols are put into place to minimize the spread of Covid-19 if it reaches Murcia

The number of coronavirus cases reported in Spain has begun to mushroom over the last few days and a dozen people are now in isolated care in hospitals around the country, and in the Region of Murcia, although no cases have been diagnosed as yet, the authorities are already implementing protocols to contain any possible outbreak as quickly and efficiently as possible.

One of the measures announced on Wednesday, the day when the first case of a patient having contracted the virus in Spain rather than abroad was reported, is that anyone presenting flu-like symptoms and suspecting for any reason that they may have contracted Covid-19 should refrain from visiting hospital A&E units and instead contact the emergency services via the 112 telephone line. Manuel Villegas, the minister for Health in the regional government of Murcia, explains that the intention is to minimize the risk of the highly contagious virus being spread further within hospitals, adding the caveat that if a patient is clearly in serious condition then of course the recommendation should be disregarded and hospital treatment should be sought immediately.

At the same time, the minister repeated his plea for calm among the general public, explaining that anyone reporting a suspected coronavirus case will be given precise instructions on how to proceed while awaiting the arrival of medical staff at their home to take samples and carry out tests. Sr Villegas was speaking at a press conference alongside Francisco Miralles, the president of the Official College of Doctors of the Region of Murcia, who had earlier met Fernando López Miras, the regional president to discuss the threat posed by the epidemic.

Among the more specific instructions related to calling the 112 line, Sr Villegas explains that anyone who has recently been in China, Japan, Korea, Iran, Singapore or northern Italy and is suffering symptoms similar to those associated with the coronavirus should use this facility rather than going to medical centres or hospitals. Similar recommendations are being issued all over Spain following a meeting on Tuesday with representatives of all of the regional health services throughout the country.

In addition, the regional government has opened a free telephone line to deal with questions or doubts related to the epidemic in an effort to reassure members of the public. The 900 121212 line is exclusively dedicated to answering questions of this nature and to transmit the need not to panic in a situation where Manuel Villegas explains that it is “probable” that the number of cases will rise in Spain as it has done in Italy, and that the most important aspect of combating its spread is to be well prepared.

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