Dutch Health Minister faints during debate on coronavirus in Parliament

The Dutch minister for medical care fainted in the parliament during a debate on coronavirus on March 18 which he called exhaustion from intense weeks due to the pandemic. Bruno Bruins briefly collapsed while taking questions and fellow ministers rushed to help him stand again. In the video shared on social media, he can be seen sipping water and reportedly left the chamber unassisted.

Bruins took to Twitter to thank everyone for the support and said that he was feeling better again. “I was feeling faint from fatigue and intense weeks. I am feeling better now. I am going home now to rest this evening so I can return tomorrow to fight the corona crisis,” he tweeted. The 56-year-old top health official has been supervising the fight against coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases has risen to 2,051 with 58 deaths.

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'Test, treat, trace'

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised testing authorities around the world as many people as possible to mitigate the risk. During a press briefing on March 18, the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised the need for physical distancing measures like cancelling sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings and said that it can help to slow transmission of the virus.

“But to suppress and control epidemics, countries must isolate, test, treat and trace. If they don’t, transmission chains can continue at a low level, then resurge once physical distancing measures are lifted,” said Ghebreyesus.

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The WHO chief recommended to isolate, test and treat every suspected case, and trace every contact, making it the backbone of the response in every country. He said that many countries are listening to our call and finding solutions to increase their ability to implement the full package of measures that have turned the tide in several countries.

“But we know that some countries are experiencing intense epidemics with extensive community transmission. We understand the effort required to suppress transmission in these situations. But it can be done,” he added.

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