JUST IN | Tufton calls emergency press conference amid coronavirus concerns
Published:Tuesday | January 28, 2020 | 11:38 AM
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has called an emergency press conference for this afternoon at his Ministry amid rumours of a suspected case of coronavirus.
A Gleaner source indicated this morning that the Accident and Emergency Unit at the University Hospital of the West Indies had been partially closed and a patient isolated.
However, UHWI chief executive officer Kevin Allen told The Gleaner that the health facility was treating the suspected case as one of dengue.
“A patient presented at the Emergency Department last night and we are querying dengue. We have sent the necessary body fluids to the lab for testing and we await same,” he said.
The hospital’s administrator refused to disclose any details about the patient.
“In any event, I am not at liberty to discuss the patient information, but we have taken certain precautions,” he said.
Reports have been circulating on social media platforms that a Chinese national was admitted to the hospital last night with flu-like symptoms and that the unit was closed.
Allen denied the allegations.
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