BANJUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The frontline workers in The Gambia, including health and psycho-social officers, are willing to stay away from their families for weeks in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

The tiny West African country has reported 23 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1 death and 12 recovery cases, since the outbreak of the pandemic on March 17.

"We are aware of the risk, but this is what we signed up to as medical workers. Everybody in this country is at risk but we're at different levels of risks," Dr. Buba Manjang, acting director of public health services in Gambia told Xinhua, stressing that they are "determined to fight and contain this virus as health workers."

According to him, they're making sure that they implement all the preventive measures so that the virus does not reach deeper into the communities.

"I miss my family a lot, because we spent the night here. You can see the commitment in all these staff," he said, pointing at his subordinates.

"We decided to stay here without visiting our families to avoid the spread of the virus, because the materials we are wearing (Personal Protective Equipment, PPE) probably get the virus on it. I want Gambians to love their frontliners. Let them give us encouragement, because we are not interested in politics," Dr. Manjang stated.

Ebrima Keita, a public health officer found at one of the isolation centres, said he decided to stay, because sometimes, he felt being discriminated by neighbors when going home.

"If I want to greet my neighbours, they would say I shouldn't be close to them, because I'm coming from the centre. So, I feel discriminated against. But I do understand their concern. Sometimes my child would call me to enquire if I am safe, I would say yes," Keita told Xinhua.

Among the frontline team who are dealing with the suspected patients of the virus is Jim Jobe, there is also a psycho-social worker who counsels patients testing positive by giving them hope.

"I am here, because I know that there are people who are picked from homes and they obviously need psycho-social support," he said.

According to him, he prepares the individual psychologically, mentally and physically so that they understand and accept that they have been infected by the coronavirus.

"It's not easy to tell the individual that they have coronavirus. It's very difficult and challenging as well. Everything is based on counselling, because whenever they are quarantined, we have to prepare them," Jobe said.

"We talk to them in a very professional way about how they should feel if they are negative, and how they should react if they are positive. We prepare their minds on that. The ones I dealt with took it in a good fate and that's it. There was no problem, no difficulties at all," Jobe told Xinhua.

Jobe said, as a care giver, the risk he's undertaking is high, but preventable. The only thing that's not preventable is how much he misses his family.

"It's very difficult sometimes, but my family understands that it's a national call for a national duty. Even if it's going to warrant us to stay here for one year, we have to do it to serve our nation," he explained.

The Gambia government declared a state of public emergency and closed schools and worshiping centers more than one month ago in order to implement social distancing. Enditem

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