Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Goverment has said no fewer than 40 health workers have tested positive for the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, made this disclosure at the joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, yesterday.
Ehanire cautioned health workers to observe maximum safety and precautionary measures when treating any patient. He said, apart from health workers, there were others who have been quarantined in the last two weeks due to exposure and have not been able to contribute to efforts of the health sector to stop the pandemic.
Ehanire said the ministry must be able to account for all infected persons and ascertain containment of the infection. He also urged states to ensure that all persons who test positive were admitted at the designated centres and ensure the public suffered no hazard from choices individuals make.
This came as the Medical Guild, an umbrella body of doctors under the employment of the Lagos State Government, confirmed that three of its members at Alimosho General Hospital and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, had tested positive for COVID-19.
The doctors, Oluwajimi Sodipo and Ismail Ajibowo, chairman and secretary, respectively, made this known in Lagos on the Instagram account of the guild.
Sodipo and Ajibowo said the three doctors have been admitted at different isolation facilities in Lagos for treatment.
They also said the doctors at Alimosho General Hospital, Ikorodu General Hospital and LASUTH had been exposed to COVID-19 cases.
“Since the incident, we have been working with our representatives in those centres, and the medical directors of the facilities to ensure testing of those involved. This is with a plan for care in the unfortunate incident of positive cases,” they said.
The guild’s leaders said they would engage the state government on the need to designate all doctors as the frontline workers, provide them with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and incentives due to risks they were exposed to.
They warned medical doctors against attending to patients without adequate PPE, due to community transmission and varying symptoms of COVID-19, stressing that all patients were COVID-19 suspects.
“We should also adopt rational use of PPEs, while adopting the slogan of ‘No PPE, No work,’” Sodipo and Ajibowo said.
Meanwhile, Ehanire has ascribed the high number of new cases to the country’s improved testing capacity: “The high number of new cases is a manifestation of improved testing but also of ongoing community transmission. The NCDC laboratories have the capacity to test 1,500 samples in 13 laboratories per day. We are testing an average of 600 samples per day because that is all the samples collected and sent for testing.”
He said the under-utilisation could be due to surveillance, sample collection and mode of transportation, which could be improved through investment in logistics.
Meanwhile, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, and Dr. Sani Aliyu, chairman and national coordinator, respectively, said government was taking drastic measures to ensure that Kano State does not become the epicentre of the pandemic in the country.
Kano currently has 73 cases out of the 873 people infected in Nigeria. Lagos is currently the epicentre of the disease in the country, with the highest number of cases.
To this end, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has redeployed at least 17 persons, including seven from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to the state to deal with current issues that have arisen.
According to the SGF: “The situation in Kano is still being assessed and monitored closely. Based on preliminary findings, the PTF has directed the NCDC to send an enhanced support team, mobilise resources for contact tracing and immediately ensure that necessary steps are taken in conjunction with state government to contain the spread of the pandemic in Kano and stop the city from becoming the next epicentre.”
PTF warns private hospitals against treating cases without approval
The SGF also stated that: “The PTF views with some measure of concern the non-compliance by private medical facilities with the directive to seek accreditation before treating COVID-19-related cases. The highly infectious nature of COVID-19, if not well managed in purpose-built facilities and specialists, poses a lot of danger not just to the medical staff in such hospitals but also to other patients and loved ones at home.
“We, therefore, appeal strongly to operators of private medical facilities wishing to continue to treat COVID-19 cases to apply to the Federal Ministry of Health urgently for accreditation.”
Ramadan: Muslims must pray from home
The SGF also urged Nigerians, especially Muslims, to comply with directives issues by the Sultan of Sokoto and president-general, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, to prevent the spread of the virus, especially during the Ramadan fasting period.
The Sultan had enjoined Muslims to observe social distancing and cancel some public religious activities, during this year’s Ramadan, which commences on Friday or Saturday.
Mustapha said the Sultan’s action was a major thrust for the control of the spread of the pandemic.
Chinese chamber of commerce donates N48m
Mustapha further disclosed that the China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria, yesterday, donated N48 million as its contribution to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
This is even as the country prepares to receive the third tranche of medical supplies from the Government of China, which is ready for airlifting.
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) had two weeks ago donated more than one million masks and other medical supplies to Nigeria, as part of its corporate social responsibility to help the country combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, China, four days ago delivered over $91,000 and protective medical supplies to Nigeria to help in its fight against COVID-19.
The donation came from the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos, in partnership with the Overseas Chinese Association in Nigeria.
The donations included 12,000 face masks, 100 protective clothing, 2,000 forehead thermometers, 2,000 surgical gloves, 1,550 hand sanitizers, and one ventilator.
Nigeria led the China-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce to present a symbolic cheque to the COVID Support Fund.
According to Mustapha, the gesture underscored the strong relationship between Nigeria and China and it was appreciated. He added that arrangements would be made towards actualising the receipt of the supplies.
“Let me emphasize that all donations go into various designated collection accounts opened by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and swept into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on a daily basis. The PTF does not manage any COVID-19-related donation or funds.
“China has contributed immensely to the infrastructural development of our country, as well as the human development sector. The current COVID-19 pandemic, which started in December, continues to be a major concern for the rest of the world. It has become a global pandemic; thousands have died; 2.5 million infected and our countrymen at risk of infection.”
He stressed that COVID-19 is the most important public health emergency of our time and therefore requires all hands to be on deck to effectively combat the pandemic.