The Gambia has registered its first documented Covid-19 case among healthcare workers after a senior nurse contracted the virus.
The nurse, who worked at the country’s main referral, EFSTH, passed away.
It is the country’s third documented Covid-19 death since the first case was registered in March. According to the health ministry, the senior nurse, 50, in addition to having had an underlying health condition, was a known diabetic and had also severe pneumonia-like symptoms. A sample was only collected from him after his demise on the 4th of July and a positive test result returned on 5th July.
Meanwhile, three other cases were confirmed which took the country’s total to 61. Two of them are Belgian couple, both 64, who arrived on SN Brussels flight in late June. The other one is a UN staff of Gambian nationality, 45, who arrived on a WFP-chartered flight from Liberia.
The country currently has 341 people in quarantine; 31 active and 8 probable cases.
The ministry said one of the challenges now is occurrence of COVID-19 among healthcare workers, while mentioning low staff morale due to the lack of incentives and the non-payment of allowances, frequent power outages in the PHEOC due to the reliance on NAWEC, as other stumbling blocks.
