Federal government authorities say they are now considering allowing covid-19 patients to be catered for at home as bed space becomes a challenge, particularly in Lagos – which is now the epicenter of the disease in Nigeria.
The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, speaking at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19press meeting Wednesday in Abuja further admitted that government is also struggling to make bed spaces available to some extent in Kano and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but said the “biggest challenge is in Lagos, where bed spaces are really tight.”
The DG stated that there are about 3,500 bed spaces available for COVID-19 patients across the country, but government is working with Lagos state government to make more bed spaces available.
Due to this shortage, Ihekweazu said government was considering home care in Lagos state.
“We are struggling at the moment, ultimately we might have to change their strategy a little bit and start considering home care in certain circumstances, to provide a room where a patient can be managed sufficiently and secondly we are able to support the care by enabling health care workers come to that.”
He further said the centre is scaling up testing for the Covid-19 by deploying more health workers to go into communities to collect samples of cases that meets the case definition
The DG said all health care workers have now been trained to go in quietly not to attract a lot of attention particularly in Lagos, FCT and Kano states with ongoing community transmission.
Ihekweazu urged every citizen within community to accept and give the health care workers the needed cooperation to enable them carry out their jobs.
He also urged Nigerians not to stigmatize the health care workers or the community where they will work in.
“We are in the process of scaling up testing across the country and the key component that the change in this in Abuja Lagos and Kano. Our response strategy us an adaptive one.
“We are not waiting for patients to come; we are going into communities to identify patients that meet this case definition and bring them in. We are doing this because we are fairly certain we now have ongoing community transmission especially in these three cities.
“More and more health workers will go into communities. For us to go into communities, you have to accept us in, you have to be willing to accept health care workers and support them and not stigmatize them,” the DG said.
The DG further informed that response in Kano is improving. He said there are now two laboratories functioning and a third one would be activated by the weekend.
“The process of identifying contact cases, collecting samples and getting them into care is improving and will continue to improve.
“I have every confidence that the work we are doing in Kano will yield results and we will very soon see improvements in Kano like we have seen a across the country,” Ihekweazu said.
At the press meeting, Ihekweazu also admitted that the proposed Infectious Diseases Control bill which has received enormous push back since it passed second reading at the House of Representatives on Tuesday still requires more consultation, if it must serve the purpose it’s being created for.
Ihekweazu said passing such a bill in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic was not advisable, but should be done carefully after the crisis, with wide consultations with stakeholders to draft a bill that will serve the country now and in the future.
The Infectious Diseases bill aims to create a legal framework for the federal government to manage the special circumstances of infectious disease outbreaks such as the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far infected nearly 2,000 people and killed 51 people across Nigeria as of Thursday April 30, 2020.
Proposed by the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, it was supposed to provide an updated legislative basis for the government’s anti-pandemic efforts, and also replace the National Quarantine Act of 2004, blamed for some of the Federal Government’s initial poor response to COVID-19.
“Of course the bill requires more consultation. I am personally not in favour of starting the bill in the middle of a crisis. I think we need to get over the crisis, get our heads around what has happened and use the momentum to engage with all stakeholders to come up with a bill that will really serve this country for now and in the future,” Ihekweazu said, while responding to questions during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.
“Whatever new legislation will come up for public health and infectious diseases in Nigeria will be so important because there’s never been a time that the importance of this has been clearer in the consciousness of Nigerians.
“So we must think each steps carefully and come up with a bill that is fit a purpose that serves us now and well into the future,” he added.
Meanwhile, the federal government has received an interim report on the mass deaths in Kano state and will soon make the details public, according to the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire who spoke at the regular press briefing by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
He said already, a medical team and equipment including ambulances, thermometers, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) among others have been deployed to Kano to provide emergency services in the state, while the full report on the Kano deaths is being awaited.
Also, the chairman of the Presidential Task Force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha confirmed that already, isolation and treatment centres with holding capacity for 274 persons had been established in Kano state.
Mustapha disclosed that the PTF on COVID-19, in the immediate, has further strengthened the state to scale-up its response with the provision of necessary facilities and medical equipment to diminish the fight against the pandemic in the state.
He said, the medical equipment released and transported to Kano to beef up the response include: 2 Oxygen Concentration and 3 Ventilators; 280 Protective gowns;51 face shields; 538 examination gloves;25 boot covers; Medical masks and Surgical caps; and IR Thermometers respectively.
“I am confident that the above collaboration complemented by the lockdown directed by the President will be effective in slowing down the spread while we continue to test, detect, isolate, contact trace and manage cases. Also, the on-going investigation into the causes of the recently reported high number of deaths will be pursued to a logical conclusion,” Mustapha stated.
However, Ehanire said to totally contain the situation in Kano, the Federal ministry of health is supporting Kano State COVID-19 Task force with necessary material, training and human resources.
According to him, “the material and human resources include assembling and dispatching a technical team from FMoH and various infectious disease specialists from Irrua Specialist hospital to join a technical team from Lagos Ministry of Health that is already on ground in Kano at the request of H.E. the Governor of Kano State”.
“The Ministerial Task Team sent on a fact-finding mission to Kano has sent an interim report, which provided information on the needs, strengths and weaknesses of the Kano response system.
“While I await a full report, this will guide the FMoH in supporting Kano State COVID-19 Task force with necessary material, training and human resources.
“There will therefore be a good pool of very experienced hands-on experts to support the leading role of Kano State in the response.
“An emergency medical team from FMoH has left Abuja with Ambulances, five of which were kindly donated by FRSC, on their way to Kano to provide emergency response in view of movement restrictions arising from the lockdown.
Consequently, Ehanire has urged all Kano residents to observe safety guidelines so as to keep safe and prevent spread of the virus.
“I shall, as usual, ask citizens to adhere to advisories: stay home and do not travel anywhere, because there is no call for everyone to return to their village.
“Wear a mask or face covering if you must go out of your house and make sure to wash it every evening. Wash your hands regularly and practice respiratory hygiene. Remember social distancing, avoid crowds and inform those around you of these advisories,” Ehanire stated.
