College of Public Health Assistant Professor Wayne Gao Published a Rapid Response On the front lines of coronavirus: the Italy’s response to covid-19 in the BMJ

Source: College of Public Health

Published on 2020-08-24

Assistant Professor Wayne Gao from the Master Program in Global Health and Development of the College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, has recently published a rapid response on the British Medical Journal based on a research article he recently published in Public Library of Science(PLOS One), pointing out that the lockdown with ill-prepared complementary measures was possibly one of the causes resulting in the COVID-19 infection of several thousands of healthcare workers.


Assistant Professor Wayne Gao

Dr. Gao said that the compulsory lockdown had caused a huge social panic, giving rise to nosocomial infections in major hospitals as complementary measures have not yet been established. The infections possibly resulted from nosocomial transmission rather than insufficient social distancing, the cause of community-acquired infection.

Some patients with flu-like symptoms, terrified by the frightening daily news about COVID-19 and the sudden lockdown, flocked into local hospitals and were unfortunately infected with COVID-19 when searching for help.

Under the infection of thousands of healthcare workers, it was necessary to distinguish the nosocomial infected/cross-infected patients and patients infected through other transmission routes as this would help determine which public health intervention measures to prioritize.

Hospitals, originally places for the curing of patients, could be predicted to turn into small outbreak epicenters due to the epidemic magnifying effects once infection control measures fail. Only through thorough implementation of infection control in medical facilities can hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other medical facilities become the true frontline against the COVID-19 outbreak or any other future outbreaks.

Infection prevention in hospitals, Dr. Gao stressed, is the top priority when it comes to combating COVID-19. If the prevention measures of nosocomial infection are not performed well, major hospitals will become the incubators of the infection. He hopes to call out to the governments of all countries through his response to reinforce hospital infection prevention and control measures and the systematic monitoring of nosocomial infections, supporting medical personnel all over the world to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospitals, originally places for the curing of patients, could turn into small outbreak epicenters once infection control measures fail