Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Ogun State Government has distanced itself from a video circulating online of a supposed 25-year-old man purportedly dying at a COVID-19 isolation centre in the State, condemning as frivolous and unfortunate taking “delight in filming a dying patient.”
A statement on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, said that there was no 25-year-old male admitted into any of the isolation facilities in Ogun, adding that no such patient died.
Coker stated that the state’s medical wards are spacious enough to meet with the social distancing requirements as recommended by the World Health Organisation ( WHO), contrary to the space displayed in the viral video.
She said that a bank logo on the cabinet showing that it was donated by the said bank is a clear sign that the place in question is not an Ogun State isolation centre, adding that “no single COVID-19 relief item was donated to Ogun State government by the bank.”
The commissioner further pointed out that the inscription on the wall at the background does not tally with any of the numerous encouraging wall inscriptions in Ogun wards.
She added that none of the Ogun isolation centres is painted in the colour shown in the footage.
Condemning the video, Coker said that it is inappropriate for a hospital environment meant for patient care to be turned into such frivolous use
She described the action as disheartening and a futile smear campaign designed to denigrate the steady progress against COVID-19 in the State.
“It is unfortunate that anyone would take delight in filming a dying patient rather than assist as the footage suggests,” the commissioner stated.
Commenting on another shocking image supposedly depicting health workers in the State wearing bin bags as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the commissioner stated that “all our health facilities are provided with appropriate PPE,” reassuring the public that “health workers’ well-being and safety remain a priority to the present administration.”
