State governments have intensified preparations of isolation centres in readiness for possible admission of COVID-19 patients as cases of the virus continue to rise in the country.
Officials of states including Ogun, Gombe, Benue, Lagos, Ondo and Sokoto, in separate interviews with our correspondents on Sunday, said they had enough bed spaces to admit COVID-19 patients.
This came to the fore as the number of officially confirmed COVID-19 infections hit 236, 014 while the rate of full vaccination was stalled at 3.9 per cent as of Saturday.
Despite the increasing cases, the Nigeria Police Force, the military, and other security agencies have failed to enforce the compulsory vaccination mandate for their personnel.
On Friday, the country recorded 1,584 new cases, while on Saturday the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed 1,305 new cases of the virus.
The agency added that on Saturday alone, 21 persons died of COVID-19 complications bringing the fatality toll across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to 3,014.
Amidst the surging cases, the Ogun State Government said it had no fewer than 260 bed spaces in the four isolation centres in the state.The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, while fielding questions from one of our correspondents in Abeokuta, said there was no need for more beds over the rising cases of COVID-19 .
She said “Ogun State has 260 isolation beds; four isolation centres. No no need for more beds.”
Coker said the state was not charging any fee for COVID-19 tests .She however said N39,000 was being charged by private laboratories in the state.
Benue State has 100 bed spaces.The state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Professor Joseph Ngbea, who disclosed this to one of our correspondents, added that there were 50 beds “as back up” in case of upsurge of the dreaded disease.
The commissioner further said that there were two functional isolation centres in the state, one at the Federal Medical Centre and another at Benue State University Teaching Hospital all located in Makurdi, capital city.
The commissioner said there were other isolation centres across the state, which had not been put to use.
Ngbea said, “At the inception of the case (COVID 19), we had 100 bed spaces but when I became commissioner, we added 50 beds as back-up.”
But the Delta State Government has yet to open its isolation centres in the state despite the increasing cases of the pandemic.
Out of the six isolation centers in the state, it was gathered that only the one at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba was operational, but it charged over N100,000 for the treatment COVID-19.Other at Oghara, Warri, Ugheli and Eku have yet to be opened.
Efforts reach the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye, on the development failed as calls and test messages sent to his phone were not responded as of time of filling this report.
But the Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, said the state had over 600 bed spaces in the five isolation centres in the state.
Also, the Ondo State Government said it had no plan to expand its isolation centres across the state.
The Ondo State Epidemiologist, Dr Stephen Fagbemi, said the state had four isolation centres to accommodate patients but none of of the centres has been occupied .
Fagbemi said, “ The state had no plan to expand its isolation centres because currently we have four centres across the state and we have not used up to 20 per cent of the facilities “
On his part, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed that six per cent of the state’s COVID-19 isolation facilities were in use.
The commissioner, on his Instagram handle, @profakinabayomi, on Saturday, said the total bed capacity of the state’s isolation facilities was at 572, adding that 537-bed spaces were still available as of December 24.
He said there was 13 per cent of the 160-bed facility at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, as well as 50 per cent of the 20-bed Armour isolation facility and 38 per cent of the 13 Palaon isolation centres had been used.
Abayomi also said the occupancy at the 25-bed isolation facility at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja was two per cent while the occupancy at the 110-bed isolation facility at the General, Gbagada was also two per cent.
Currently, there are two isolation centres in Sokoto State; the Amanawa Leprosy Centre and the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital.
The Amanawa isolation centre has 100 bed spaces hospital while the UDUTH centre has 40 bed spaces.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Ali Inname, who disclosed this noted that emphasis should be on vaccination as the world had moved away from isolating COVID-19 patients.
There were no fewer than 12, 547 COVID-19 patients on admission at isolation and treatment centres across the country as of December 21.
Meanwhile, the number of officially confirmed COVID-19 infections has hit 236, 014 while the rate of full vaccination has stalled at 3.9 per cent even as the Nigeria Police Force, the military, and other security agencies have failed to enforce the compulsory vaccination mandate for their personnel.
Others who have failed to enforce the vaccine mandate for their personnel include the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Correctional Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The Presidential Steering Committee led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had directed that federal workers who had not taken the jab would not be given access to their offices with effect from December 1, 2021.
The PSC had stated that Federal Government workers without proof of vaccination or test results done within 72 hours would be denied access to their offices starting from December 1. The committee had further stated that the directive would be applicable in all locations in Nigeria and missions abroad.
The Office of the Head of Service had nearly four weeks ago begun enforcing the directive by denying civil servants and visitors who did not possess vaccine cards, access to the federal secretariat in Abuja.
Checks however revealed that it was only civil servants at the federal secretariat that were denied access to their offices.
It was learnt that security agencies merely advised their personnel to get vaccinated but did not impose a deadline thereby making the directive optional. – Punch.
