Personal hygiene the No.1 safety measure, says Mildura GP

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PERSONAL hygiene and social distancing measures remain the most effective way for people to help curb the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, Mildura doctor Philip Webster says.

“We need to empower people to understand that hand hygiene, hygiene around coughing and sneezing and appropriate social distancing are still the number one safety measure that everybody can do,” Dr Webster said.

“They will be the things that save us as individuals, but as a community from the rapid spread of COVID-19 and what could potentially overwhelm health resources.”

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Sunraysia’s top health professionals on Friday announced a united front to respond to the COVID-19 threat with Mildura Base Hospital forming a working group with Sunraysia Community Health Services and Mildura Health Private Hospital to work with the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a testing clinic.

Dr Webster said he had been involved in numerous planning meetings over the past few weeks and believed things were progressing.

“Lots of things have been done and we’ve progressed certainly to a stage where we’re ready to meet the needs of the community if and when the virus is spreading through the local population,” he said.

“But, again, the thing that protects us against that is not having a fever clinic or a respiratory clinic set up and ready to go, the thing that protects us is having good hand hygiene, good cough and sneeze hygiene and social distancing.”