Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Wednesday said the state is "moving to control the inputs of the health process, employ the capabilities and resources available in all sectors in an integrated manner to control and limit the spread of the [Covid-19] pandemic".

The magnitude of the challenge in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic has changed with the uptick in infections, which requires proactive, rapid and immediate measures by all state agencies, Razzaz said at the first meeting of the Public Health Logistic Support Team.

The prime minister emphasized the need to ensure partnership in the use of the health system's infrastructure, whether governmental, private or military hospitals.

The meeting explored ways of backing up the ministry of health’s administrative and logistical operations in all areas in order to enable it to manage the ramifications of the crisis in the Kingdom.

The Public Health Logistic Support Team was formed yesterday by the prime ministry and was mandated with drawing up operational, administrative and logistical plans and proposing alternatives to deal with the coronavirus pandemic based on the number of infections.

It will also decide on how to provide the ministry of health with logistical and administrative support and facilitate its work in various fields, including the provision of electronic systems and platforms, the necessary personnel, equipment, and support services, in addition to proposing alternative solutions.

Razzaz indicated that the team's mission is significant, "especially as we move from the stage of measures imposed by the pandemic to integrated lines of procedures in which responsibilities are distributed among all state agencies".

The caretaker prime minister warned that the rise in the number of new infections according to a week- and day-based geometric progression "may make us prepare for the worst scenario".

Therefore, Razzaz stressed, it is important to ramp up efforts and ensure the health system is ready in terms of the number of isolation rooms, critical care and ventilators in case the number of infections doubles.

The premier said the decisions taken yesterday, including the suspension of education in schools and universities and the introduction of a Kingdom-wide lockdown on Friday and Saturday, may contribute to reducing the rise in infections.

The prime minister called on the team to meet on a daily basis and issue a daily report outlining the needs of the ministry of health in order to overcome the difficulties it faces.

"The task is not easy. We must face this challenge boldly and be up to it", the prime minister said, praising the ministry of health, the epidemiological investigation teams, the coronavirus crisis cell and other stakeholders for their management of the pandemic.

"The number of coronavirus infections requires that we work in a different way, because the number of epidemiological investigation teams and laboratory tests is constantly increasing, which requires increasing the number of laboratories in a decentralized manner", Razzaz told reporters after the meeting.

He further added: "We need to scientifically manage these issues by engineering integrated and clear procedures, while employing all resources and infrastructure in the health system from all sectors."

The prime minister also said that "the countries that succeed and act beforehand are the ones that employ all their energy and have a daily database of information about any change that occurs therein."

He indicated that today’s meeting was fruitful and saw the proposition of solutions and recommendations needed to address the recent surge in the number of infections in the Kingdom.

Minister of Local Administration Walid Masri, who is the head of the Public Health Logistics Support Team, said the team is tasked with supplying the ministry of heath with human and medical resources, equipment and finding a decentralized mode of operation for laboratories.

Additionally, the minister explained that the team will identify the number beds available in the Kingdom's hospitals, the number of intensive care rooms, the number of artificial respirators, in addition to the rooms that can be converted into intensive care rooms.

Minister of Health Sa’ed Jabir said the team will help in the ministry in administrative and logistical aspects which consume 70 percent of the ministry’s daily efforts and operation.

According to Jabir, the team will coordinate with the Civil Service Bureau for the recruitment of nursing staff and doctors, in addition to hiring firms for quality control and process automation among other aspects of support.