The Federal Government has directed the immediate deployment and activation of GeneXpert machines to treatment centers at National Hospital Abuja and University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, so that they can now conduct testing on site. The GeneXpert machine allows results within one hour.
Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the Honourable Minister of Health revealed this at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Press Briefing on Thursday, 2nd July, 2020.
Similarly, Dr. Ehanire has cautioned against rejection of very sick persons in hospitals with many, losing their lives outside or on the way, having been denied attention in more than one hospital.
To address this ugly trend, the Honourable Minister of Health reported on a meeting held by the Honourable Ministers of Health, their FCT counterpart with Medical Directors of both Federal and FCT government hospitals in the FCT catchment area, where it was emphasized that no patient should be denied treatment or rejected, and that all health workers will be trained and retrained on Infection Prevention and Control and issued PPEs and materials required for the discharge of their duties.
The Minister also revealed that, all government hospitals in FCT will become COVID-19 sample collection sites, so that walk-in cases can have samples taken to be forwarded to NCDC for testing. “This will boost testing and assure users and caregivers of reduced bottlenecks and improved efficiency in our response. We intend to scale up this sentinel sample collection sites to all States of the Federation. It is not acceptable that persons lose their lives to health conditions which could possibly have been cured, or may not even have been COVID-19 related”, he said.
Speaking further, Dr. Ehanire disclosed that the current figure of tested samples in the country stands at 138,462, of which 26,484 are confirmed positive, while 10,152 have been treated and discharged with 603 fatalities, most of them with underlying illnesses.
Commenting on Madagascar herbs, the Health Minister revealed that preliminary results of the analysis of the herbs by Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRID), show that it is the same as the plant Artemisia anua, which is grown in the NIPRID research farm in Abuja and further research on its efficacy will be conducted when a grant is approved.
In another development, the Honourable Minister informed that he chaired the quarterly meeting of the Federal Ministry of Health with the Health Partners Coordinating Committee on Friday, 26th June, 2020, which was to update our international Development Partners Group on Federal Government plans and strategies, and to mobilize technical and material support for the Health Sector activities, especially the COVID-19 Response Action Plan.
On the ease of lock down, the Minister advised that it should not be assumed that the lifting of the ban on interstate travel is an indication that danger is over and it is safe to move about. “The risks of being infected are higher during travel, so I strongly advise we do not embark on non-essential travel. This is particularly so for the elderly and those designated as high risk”, he said.
He pointed out that all countries, including Nigeria, rely heavily on the cooperation and collaboration with citizens, especially in implementing simple non-pharmaceutical measures, like wearing face masks when outside the house, avoiding crowds and gatherings of more than 20 people and simple hygiene measures, which have been proven to reduce risks of transmission. “The success or lack thereof, of response is therefore a factor, not just of national, but also of sub-national and citizen efforts. Hence, the need to again call on all States, LGAs and communities, to know they have a critical role to play and that their engagement matters”, Dr. Ehanire said.
By Blessing Egbo.
Signed.
Olujimi Oyetomi, Director, Information, Media & Public Relations.