No private facility has been accredited in the country at the moment for the treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Federal Government stated on Friday.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who made this known in Abuja, during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, explained that no private hospital in the country has met the Ministry’s accreditation criteria yet.
According to him, “Lagos is looking at some hospitals for treating coronavirus. Private hospitals must show that they have the staff – doctors and nurses that must be infectious disease specialists and are trained in infection and control protocols,. The hospital must also have cleaners who are trained.
“The hospital must also be properly delineated as it is in clean and dirty areas. There is no hospital that I know that has met the criteria in the country at the moment.
“Treating of private patients is not allowed because the risk is very high. If the treatment of patients gets complicated, before you rushed them to the hospital, it will be too late for the person. So, the earlier they begin their treatment in an accredited and certified hospital the better it is.”
Concerning the Chinese medical team in the country to support the coronavirus fight, the Minister said they are still observing the 14-day quarantine. He however, explained that officials and partners of the Ministry are in communications with them via teleconferencing.
“The Chinese team are still in quarantine for 14 days but our directors, officials and technical partners in the ministry have had a teleconference with them, in which they exchanged ideas and were able to learn a lot of things about how they handled their cases, patients and how they carried out their infection prevention.
“The shipment that came in through the United Nations system and the one that came from China were decontaminated as a routine process. They have both been decontaminated by the same process by the Ministry of Environment.”
With regards to claims of finding the cure to the coronavirus by traditional medicine practitioners, Ehanire explained that he will not dispute their claims, but has left it to the department for traditional alternative and complementary medicines in the Ministry of Health to handle.
“We have had series of letters from traditional medical practitioners that have written to me that they have the cure for coronavirus. I have not disputed it, so I have referred such letters to the department of traditional medicine and I’m waiting for them to give me feedback on what they have discovered from the people,” he said.
Concerning why there haven’t been any recorded case of the virus in states like Abia and Imo, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said: “We have decided to re-intensify our surveillance in Imo and Abia States to be sure that we are not missing out on any patient. We don’t know why they haven’t recorded any case, but it definitely means we have to work harder and state teams have to work harder in those states.”