Connect with us

COVID-19

Hospitals won’t be able to handle serious COVID-19 cases soon — NCDC

Published

on

handle cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says the country is now reaching a critical level, adding that the hospital capacity will no longer be able to cope with more serious COVID-19 cases.

The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said this in a series of tweets on Monday while reacting to the spike in COVID-19 infections in the last one month.

Ihekweazu said this as the fear of COVID-19 spread at the National Identity Management Commission grew on Monday because Nigerians besieged the NIMC offices following the workers’ suspension of the strike they embarked upon on Thursday.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Recall that Nigerians have been trooping to the NIMC offices since December 14, 2020 when the Federal Government ordered telecommunications firms to disconnect telephone lines of subscribers who failed to link their NIN to their subscriber identification modules.

No fewer than 164 million Nigerians, whose telephone lines could be disconnected on the grounds of not having the NIN, have been thronging NIMC offices, disregarding COVID-19 protocols such as wearing of face masks and social distancing.

The matter came to a head on Thursday when the NIMC workers began a strike over the fear of COVID-19 spread in the agency.

The President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, NIMC unit, Asekokhai Lucky, had exclusively said on Thursday that three workers of the agency at its headquarters had been infected with COVID-19.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, had, on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme earlier on Monday said the Federal Government might soon suspend the registration for the NIN.

The minister said, “My understanding is that the whole process may be suspended so as to reorder the whole process in terms of management of the crowd because it was never intended that it would become a rowdy process like

that. So people may have to wait and be called at intervals to go through the process.

But later at a press conference of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mamora ruled out the suspension or postponement of the NIN, blaming the challenges on the attitude of Nigerians.

Mamora stressed the need to avoid crowding as was seen under the guise of NIN enrolment.

He said, “There is absolutely no cause for this, if only people would voluntarily comply with advisories and guidelines as issued by the Ministry of Communications and its relevant agency.

“The statement credited to me on the social media as to the suspension of the exercise is out of context, hence misleading. For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. President’s order on the matter remains as being carried out by the relevant ministry.

Mamora added that the result from the tests conducted on prospective National Youth Service Corps members had confirmed that no part of the country was free of COVID-19.

The minister also said that the plan of the Federal Government regarding activation of oxygen availability in the states was on course with a view to effecting immediate repairs of non-functional oxygen plants.

On his part, Ihekweazu, in a series of tweets on Monday, said Nigeria was reaching a critical level, adding that the hospital capacity would no longer be able to cope with serious COVID-19 cases.

The NCDC DG tweeted, “We are reaching a critical level where our hospital capacity will no longer be able to cope with more serious COVID-19 cases and health workers will be forced to make tough decisions. We need to protect our more vulnerable citizens.

“We all have to take responsibility. This is not for the NCDC, the PTF or government alone. By organising large gatherings indoors, you’re not only putting yourself and guests at risk, but also the staff who have limited choice but to serve. By going to clubs, you’re putting your parents at risk.”

Ihekweazu added that the number of coronavirus cases reported in the country had been on the rise in the last four weeks.

“In the last four weeks, we‘ve recorded a spike in the number of new COVID-19 cases. The virus is spreading fast, causing mild symptoms in some and severe illness/death in others,” he tweeted.

The NCDC boss said Nigerians must note that the 100,000 persons that contracted COVID-19 in the last 11 months were not just figures but persons.

“Most important of all, the 100,000 cases and over 1,000 deaths are not just numbers. These are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, friends whose deaths will be mourned and the pain of their loss deeply felt. The response starts and ends with the people of this country,” he said.

Later at the PTF press conference, Ihekweazu, disclosed that the centre would from next week roll out rapid diagnosis test kits in five tertiary hospitals in Abuja while the facility would be extended nationwide from February.

Also at the press conference, the National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu, said the Federal Government was considering extension of the curfew hours as part of its response to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the peak of the first wave of the pandemic, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had in April 2020 declared an 8pm-to-6am curfew. It was eventually relaxed to 10pm-4am and later 12am to 4am, which still exists to date.

But Aliyu said the Federal Government was in talks with the state governments on the review of the curfew.

The PTF coordinator also sensitised health workers to patients who present persistent fever “especially if there are respiratory symptoms or shortness of breath; it is possibly going to be COVID.”

Aliyu urged vulnerable persons to “please stay at home,” especially those who were above 60 or are diabetic and other core morbidities.

He said, “While we are not in (another) lockdown yet, it is in your best interest if you fall within this group to lock down because now is the time to actually keep away from the general public and mass gatherings.

READ ALSO:

Foreigners without COVID-19 certificate will lose visas, says NIS

FG Says Major Factor of Covid Deaths Due to Late Presentation of Patients

Another strike looms in varsities as unions kick against FG agreement with ASUU

Continue Reading
Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

COVID-19

PCR Tests for Travellers Fraudulent, Probe NCDC, Ministry – WHO Envoy

Published

on

PCR Tests for Travellers Fraudulent, Probe NCDC, Ministry – WHO Envoy

The World Health Organisation’s Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, Ayoade Alakija, has called for an investigation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Ministry of Health over the required COVID-19 PCR tests for inbound passengers to Nigeria.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Alakija, in a tweet via her official Twitter handle, @yodifiji, wondered why the PCR tests were done with no reagents.
According to reports, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Ifedayo Adetifa, had earlier insisted that Nigeria would not scrap COVID-19 tests for inbound passengers into the country.

Adetifa had said the country was reporting a high rate of COVID-19 cases from inbound passengers, hence the need for the insistence of the tests.
Alakija, reacting to a tweet by a journalist, David Hundeyin, tweeted, “It’s a scam. The entire thing is a criminal enterprise and should be exposed. “Diagnostic tests to enter a country where the government officials have interest in Dx test centres. PCR tests with no reagents? NCDC and MOH should be investigated. It is a scam, period.”

Read Also: Theranos’s Holmes Found Guilty on Four Counts in Fraud Trial

Continue Reading

COVID-19

Austria Suspends Mandatory Covid-19 Vaccine Law

Published

on

Austria has announced that it is suspending mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all adults this came weeks after the legislature took effect in an EU first.

 

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

 

The Alpine nation of nine million people was among few countries in the world to make jabs against the coronavirus compulsory for all adults.
The law took effect in February and called for fines up to 3,600 euros ($3,940) from mid-March for those who do not comply.

However, minister Karoline Edtstadler said the law’s “encroachment of fundamental rights” could no longer be justified by the danger posed by the pandemic.
“After consultations with the health minister, we have decided that we will of course follow what the (expert) commission has said,” Edtstadler told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.
“We see no need to actually implement this compulsory vaccination due to the (Omicron) variant that we are predominantly experiencing here.” He noted

According to him,the highly-contagious variant is widely believed to be less severe than previous strains of the virus, and so far Austrian hospitals have been able to cope with a surge in cases.

 

Read Also: Manufacturers’ Demand For Forex Nears $2b Amid Scarcity, Weak Naira

Continue Reading

COVID-19

F.G. Commences Vaccination with Over 30 Million J&J Vaccines

Published

on

Following efforts to increase the COVID-19 vaccination coverage of eligible persons across the country, the Federal Government has launched the service delivery, communication, accountability, logistics, electronic reporting, and supportive supervision (S.C.A.L.E.S) strategy.

The SCALES 2.0 strategy, which will ensure that more Nigerians can easily locate a nearby health facility to get vaccinated by visiting the website (www.vacsitefinder.nphcda.gov.ng), will also integrate childhood immunisation alongside other primary health care services.

 

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

 

Also, eligible persons can now get vaccinated with a single shot of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines, as there are over 30 million vaccine doses available.

Nigeria has received over 64 million COVID-19 vaccines – AstraZeneca, Moderna, J&J and Pfizer. Furthermore, 48 million vaccines are expected before mid-year.

Latest vaccination data showed that as of February 21, 2022, a total of 17,199,853 eligible Nigerians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination, while 7,663,560 have received their second dose. In total, 24,863,413 vaccine doses have been administered.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, made this known in Abuja during the launch of the SCALES 2.0 strategy with the use of the single dose J&J vaccine.

Dr Shuaib said: “We want to ensure that we not only decentralise COVID-19 vaccination, but make sure that we improve coverage and access to COVID-19 vaccination. Today, we are vaccinating just a little over 200,000 people per day. For us to reach our target of reaching 70 per cent of eligible populations before the end of 2022, we have to hit 550,000 people per day. This will ensure that we reach herd immunity.

“We are also going to be launching the single shot vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) for everyone. We understand that one of the reasons there is a gap between our first and second doses is because people experience adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. Although the adverse events are very mild, we know that the opportunity to have a single shot not only in the hardest to reach areas, but everybody having access to one single shot will definitely increase our coverage of COVID-19 vaccination.

“The COVID-19 vaccination ‘site finder’ will improve the ability of Nigerians to assess COVID-19 vaccines. If you are able to sign on to this website, you will be shown the nearest COVID-19 vaccination centre.”

In her remarks, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Moeti Matshidiso, hailed the Federal Government’s vaccination strategy and efforts in ensuring that more Nigerians are covered.

She said: “I think we have learnt many lessons on how to leverage the capacities and lessons in delivering such campaigns in a country like Nigeria and internationally.

“I understand that there is going to be a great deal of emphasis on decentralisation – on really leveraging the decentralised nature of the Nigerian system and government to engage decision makers at the state and local government level, so that they can drive the very much action needed to speed up delivery of vaccines to the population.

“There will also be the need to expand the delivery capacity because at the same time the country is carrying out this important work, there is other work of delivering vaccines, responding to public health emergencies going on.”

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, added: “Let me assure Nigerians that we have adequate stock of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, as we have over 30 million doses in stock. I call on all eligible persons that are yet to receive their vaccination to go to the nearest COVID-19 vaccination site and get vaccinated. This single dose offers the same protection you get from two doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech and Moderna vaccines.

 

Read Also: Vietnam to End COVID Curbs on International Flights

Continue Reading

Trending