Chair of The UWI COVID-19 Task Force and Pro-Vice Chancellor Undergraduate Studies, The UWI, Professor Clive Landis gave the reassurance that the region can overcome the COVID-19 outbreak.
One regional university educator is reminding the Caribbean that this region has survived three viral outbreaks over the past eleven years and the region can overcome COVID-19 as well.
Chair of The UWI COVID-19 Task Force and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Undergraduate Studies, The UWI, Professor Clive Landis, gave this reassurance during the “Vice-Chancellor’s Forum: COVID-19 Partnering in the Caribbean’s Response” on Monday.
In his presentation, Professor Landis discussed the organisation of The UWI COVID-19 Task Force which was created just under a week ago. He explained that the team, which includes Director
at the UWI Centre for Hotel and Tourism Management, Dr Michelle McLeod; and Director, Arthur Lewis Institute, UWI, Cave Hill, Dr Don Marshall, is using the same collaborative model used to set up the Zika Task Force.
“That is a model whereby the University makes its expertise, wide expertise available to the whole Caribbean, and we work very closely with the local Ministries of Health and local disaster preparedness (organisations),” explained Professor Landis.
He added that the objectives of Task Force are to coordinate UWI’s own internal readiness and to help inform the Caribbean about the epidemic.
The professor, who made comments on the preparedness of the region, noted that with every crisis, the preparedness gets better and he is quite proud of the state of readiness of the laboratories.
COVID-19 is unique, more contagious
The Chair of The UWI COVID-19 Task Force made reference to research on COVID-19 from China, stating that health officials there highlighted that this coronavirus is not SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and it is not influenza.
He added that researchers also noted that it a virus with its own characteristics; it is more contagious in a way that is not seen in cases of influenza.
“It has a different way of being transmitted from influenza – transmission chains can be interrupted and that has been demonstrated in China, ” said Professor Landis.
COVID-19 has higher fatality rate than influenza
According to Professor Landis, recent research has shown that COVID-19 has a higher fatality rate than influenza and it was observed in the elderly and persons with chronic diseases. This coronavirus is a zoonotic disease which came originally from animals and spread from human to human. Professor Landis noted that airborne spread has not been reported for COVID-19, but the virus can spread via droplets (sneezing and coughing) and when droplets land on surfaces.
He explained that in humid climates the virus in the droplets is able to survive longer. Professor Landis added that the virus gets into the body by an indirect route of hand to mouth, and noted that people are constantly touching their face without even realising it.
He also spoke about the direct route of transmission which is when a person coughs or sneezes on someone’s face and the droplets would affect the person.
In his presentation which focused on Chinese research on COVID-19, Professor Landis highlighted that it was shown that in the largest affected provinces, 78-85 per cent of clusters occurred in families. He said that this would give scientists an opportunity to trace contacts, isolate clusters and interrupt transmission. He also said that this can also provide an opportunity to extend care and medical observation to families in self-isolation.