MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is involved in the struggle against the spread of the pandemic around the world, including preventive measures at penitentiaries and instruction of medical personnel, the spokeswoman for the ICRC office in Russia, Galina Balzamova, told TASS.
In particular, the ICRC is working on a rapid response plan envisaging such measures as isolation, improvement of hygiene and supply of protection items and gear to penitentiaries.
Under this plan the ICRC recently provided soap and disinfectants to medical units at 12 penitentiaries in Armenia. Similar assistance was provided to 13 prisons in Iraq, which keep about 22,000 convicts. "In the near future our aid, including handwash and chlorine spray will be delivered to another 11 penitentiaries where 20,000 people serve prison terms," Balzamova said. "In order to curb COVID-2019 in Colombia, the ICRC will provide support for repairing sanitation equipment at 20 detention centers and for hygiene items' supply there."
The ICRC also helps hospitals in a number of countries to enforce quarantine measures.
"In the Democratic Republic of the Congo we teach medical personnel to isolate patients suspected of having contracted the virus and carry out measures to prevent and control the infection," Balzamova said. "In Lebanon, the ICRC runs an emergency care unit at the hospital of the Rafik Hariri University, where COVID-19 patients undergo treatment. In Somalia, we have provided tents for a hospital in Mogadishu for isolating patients and introduce a system of monitoring COVIC-19 patients at clinics the Somali Red Crescent Society supports.
In Gaza, the ICRC personnel have distributed 500 matrasses and 1,000 blankets among quarantined patients. In Mexico, we hand out water and hygiene kits. In Sudan, we repair dozens of street water taps and distribute soap among tens of thousands displaced persons and also purchase gloves, medical garments and disinfectants for government-run health service agencies," Balzamova added.
COVID-2019 pandemic
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 2,000,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 126,800 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 485,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.