Speaking to Lusa, the pediatrician, former director-general of the Pediatric Hospital of Luanda, considered that the adoption of measures that are too drastic generates incomprehension and “non-compliance”.
In general, for Luís Bernardino, Angola "has taken the measures that other countries have taken, with greater or lesser rigor, to stop the pandemic", with some "excess", of measures that "are not realistic and lend themselves to not. work ”.
With regard to home quarantine, the clinician gave the example of Mozambique, which adopted this measure, “easier to establish and more humane”, while Angola opted for institutional quarantine, which from a logistical and human point of view “is nothing practical ”, forcing the creation of public centers and hotels designated for this purpose.
The opening of international air travel to and from Luanda, scheduled for June 30, according to decree 180/2020, is associated with a series of conditions, namely carrying out a previous test to detect the covid-19, up to eight days before the boarding, institutional quarantine in a public center or in a hotel unit approved for the purpose by the health authorities, as well as the realization of a new test for the purposes of epidemiological “discharge”.
In addition to the high costs associated with these measures, which may dissuade many travelers and the airlines themselves from resuming activity, the doctor drew attention to the fact that people are "withdrawing" for fear of being institutionalized.
“People know that if they are diagnosed as positive, even asymptomatic, they have to comply with an institutional quarantine or even an internment and they are withdrawing, they don't want to go to hospitals because they are afraid of being penalized. It is necessary to think about it, so that people do not think that they will be sanctioned. I think it is necessary to reverse the institutional quarantine ”, he defended.
The specialist, who was also a professor at Universidade Agostinho Neto, warned of the fact that too drastic measures are taken that cause dissatisfaction and may lead to non-compliance and pointed out that Angola could follow the example of Mozambique, “unless it is thought that the The Angolan population is less disciplined and less aware than the Mozambican population ”.
Luís Bernardino admitted that there is already a community transmission of covid-19 in Angola and also warned of the risks of putting aside the public health system, creating a parallel health system, with quarantine and internment areas outside hospitals.
In his opinion, adequate isolation zones should be created in hospitals.
Criticizing the "improvisations" and the "lack of a global view" on the problem of covid-19, the doctor said that the public health system "is working on gas", stressing that "instead of spending money to put in beds outside hospitals ”, the Government should invest more in the protection of health professionals.
The pediatrician also suggested that part of the staff that is “underutilized” in health centers and hospitals could be directed to frame and accompany people in the home quarantine.
On the complaints of doctors, who are at war with the Ministry of Health after several candidates were left out in the last public competition, Luís Bernardino declared that "there is a certain demobilization of the youngest" and pointed out the need to train more general practitioners.
"These doctors who were trained and went to the competition and were considered unfit, we will take them and we will train them in general practitioners", he defended, adding that vacancies must be created to place them.
Luís Bernardino also advocated a cooperation more focused on training, “and not an emergency cooperation” as is currently the case with the Cuban contingent that came to support the Government in the fight against the covid-19.
The doctor acknowledged, however, that in an emergency like the current pandemic, these structural problems will not be easily resolved.
