Isha Sesay
THE Ministry of Health in the Balearic Islands has confirmed the third case of the coronavirus in Mallorca.
Health officials have reported that the infected patient is a woman who recently travelled to Turin in Italy.
She had alerted the emergency services on Monday evening after presenting mild symptoms of the Covid-19 virus.
Activating the national protocol, the woman was admitted to an isolation ward at the Son Llatzer Hospital in Palma.
Biological samples were sent to the National Centre for Microbiology at the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid for analysis with the woman producing a positive result for the virus.
The Directorate General of Public Health has now begun to contact everyone who has been in touch with the patient where they will be advised of the next steps to follow if presenting any flu-like symptoms.
This is the third confirmed case in Mallorca after a woman tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday evening on her return from Bergamo in Italy.
Health chiefs have revealed that the woman is recovering well and will remain in isolation at Son Espases Hospital.
A British expat from Marratxi was the first person to be diagnosed with the virus after becoming infected whilst skiing in France.
Meanwhile, IB-Salut are finalising a contingency plan so that the emergency services and all public hospitals are better equipped to deal with new cases of the disease.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Eugenia Carandell, the assistant director of IB-Salut, said that dedicated spaces will be created at hospitals for infected patients.
A special home-care service will also be launched to lessen the pressure on public health resources which will be in operation by Wednesday of this week.
“We want to ensure that infected patients do not go to a health centre or to the emergency department to avoid overexposing others to the virus.
“Therefore, it is advised that those presenting mild symptoms to call 061 where they will be treated at home by this new home-care unit,” explained Carandell.
Calling for citizens to remain calm, Carandell stated that the similarity between the symptoms of the coronavirus and influenza will generate some confusion.
“Normally, when these epidemics get bigger, the aggressiveness of the virus tends to decrease.
“This fact, together with the containment plans that we are carrying out, will allow IB-Salut to have more time to prepare for a more important epidemic,” Carandell concluded.
