Three private hospitals in Lagos State have received the nod of the state government to handle COVID-19 cases.
This comes in the wake of warning by government that it may run out of bed spaces for COVID-19 patients within the next three weeks if the current rate of infection persists.
Reports from Edo State on Saturday suggested that 16 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in the state were health workers while the authorities in Kano State came hard on two hotels for allegedly violating the lockdown rules.
The hotels were shut down.
The Lagos State Government did not name the accredited hospitals but the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday that one of them had started admitting patients.
The remaining two are to start admission and management of patients soon.
“They have passed the biosecurity compliance test. They have made modifications to their hospitals so that their staff and other patients are not put in danger or exposed to a higher risk of contracting COVID-19,” the ministry quoted Health Commissioner Akin Abayomi as saying.
He added: “Those private hospitals have passed the test and we are just in the process of issuing them with accreditation certificate so that they can start managing COVID19 patients in the private sector.
“However, even if they are managing COVID19 in the private sector, it still comes under the supervision of the Lagos State Government Ministry of Health.
“Also, information about every patient managed by the hospitals must be made available to us so that we can record it in our database.
“COVID-19 remains a public crisis and all public crises are managed and supervised by the Lagos State Government and by extension the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Forty-two fully recovered COVID-19 patients in the state were discharged yesterday.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said 20 were from the Gbagada isolation centre, 11 from Eti-Osa (LandMark) and 11 from Lekki Isolation centres.
This brings to 994, the number of #COVID19 confirmed cases that have been successfully managed and discharged in Lagos.
16% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Edo are health workers – Obaseki In a separate update on the situation in Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki said sixteen per cent of the confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases in the state are health workers.
He hailed Edo health workers for their commitment and sacrifice in the fight against COVID-19.
He asked Edo citizens to “join me to express our gratitude to our healthcare workers, who have been leading our fight against COVID-19.
“These gallant men and women continuously stay to sacrifice almost everything; their health, friends and families, livelihoods and resources, just to make sure that we are safe.
“We thank you for your sacrifices and want you to know that we are extremely grateful and we are very proud of your commitment and efforts.” The Edo governor also implored the health workers not to be discouraged that over 16 per cent of Edo state’s current COVID-19 cases were health workers, stressing that he knew the ugly development might dampen their morale and demotivate them.
Government, he pledged, “will not relent in prioritizing your welfare and continue to ensure that you have adequate training, access to the right equipment, facilities and proper compensation.
“The resilience of the state’s healthcare system is being tested by COVID-19. Edo State shall overcome with the dedication of our healthcare workers.
“We encourage our people to continue to practise social and physical distancing, wear face masks at all times, especially when you are visiting health facilities, and wash your hands frequently.
“These will reduce the spread and the impact of the virus, especially on our health workers and ensure our human resources are not over-stretched. Thank you to Edo State’s health workers.”
He also said seven more coronavirus patients had been discharged after recovery. The state however recorded 13 new cases, two COVID-19 related deaths and 179 suspected cases.
Obaseki said his administration was committed to containing the COVID-19 pandemic in all communities across Edo state’s 18 local government areas. Also speaking, Health Commissioner Patrick Okundia decried the submission of wrong addresses and phone numbers during sample collection by residents, which makes it difficult for contact tracers to track down confirmed cases after laboratory results are released.
He urged citizens to present or report themselves through the Edo COVID-19 toll free response lines, following any recent travel into the country, travel from high incident states or contact with confirmed cases. Okundia said: “While the state government intensifies efforts to contain the pandemic in all communities in Edo, we charge all residents to make themselves available for the ongoing massive screening and testing exercise across the state, as it will complement government’s efforts at curtailing the spread of the virus.”