COVID-19

PCR Planet: practicing interventional cardiology in the context of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia and South Africa

Wiiliam Wijns interviews Farrel Hellig (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Khaled Al-Shaibi (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) and get their feedback about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

In South Africa and Saudi Arabia, although the epidemic is still at an early stage, both countries had to regorganize the hospital and their practice.

In Jeddah specifically:

They dedicated an entire building to COVID-19 patients,
They suspended all elective admissions in the cardiology department,
The cardiology staff is dived in 3 groups with a 14 days rotation (a team treating COVID-19 patients, a team treating non COVID-19 patients, a team self isolating for 14 days),
They are using telemedecine as much as possible,

In Johannesburg, they had to adapt as well:

They are going to test any patient entering the hospital (excluding urgent cases),
They are mainting a primary PCI service and are still doing elective procedures that can not wait several weeks,
They are using full PPE only on COVID-19 positive patients,
They have a dedicated COVID-19 cath lab (with negative pressure).