…As Lagos accredits 3 hospitals for management of coronavirus
There is no fixed date for reopening of schools shut over the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal government has reiterated.
It said despite the agitations for reopening of schools, it would continue to monitor situations with a view to preventing a spike in the infection rate.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, stated this in Abuja during the Presidential Task Force (PFT) on COVID-19 100th day briefing.
He said: “There is no fix date on schools’ resumption. The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 is studying the situation, carrying out reviews every two and four weeks to access the situation and judge when it is safe.
“The Federal government is taking very seriously the balanced between safety and preventing disease explosion, and the opening of schools.
“We are encouraging schools to embrace online training and education as much as possible.
“As soon as the details are established and the risk of transmission is measured and established, then, schools will reopen.
“We are aware of what is happening in neighbouring countries through the organ known as the West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO).
“Few days ago, we held an inter-ministerial meeting of the Ministers of health of the West African region to compare notes, review strategies, understand how others are tackling their problems, and reach a common ground on how to protect our region.
“We also consider how to do procurement together to reduce cost and how to share materials that we get from donations to the region.
“The protocol for border activities is also being studied. We have through WAHO, worked out protocols on how border crossings will be conducted, particularly passenger transport.
“It has not been opened but we are working out the opening protocols and the measures that need to be taken for countries to protect themselves.”
He added: “Interstate travel is still prohibited but travels within the states are allowed. Non-essential travels should be postponed, delayed or cancelled for now.
“We also encourage local governments with high burden (called hot spots) to be strictly followed the advisories, stay indoors, use masks, and also ensure that movements to those hotspots are restricted.”
Meanwhile, Lagos State government has announced the accreditation of three hospitals for treatment and management of coronavirus.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this in a statement from the Ministry of Health.
Abayomi spoke at a news briefing to give situation report on COVID-19 management in the state.
Abayomi stated one of the accredited private hospitals is already admitting patients while the other two will soon start admission and management of patients.
He said: “They have passed the biosecurity compliance test. They have made modifications to their hospitals so that their staff and other patients are not put in danger or exposed to a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
“Those private hospitals have passed the test and we are just in the process of issuing them with accreditation certificate so that they can start managing COVID19 patients in the private sector.
“However, even if they are managing COVID19 in the private sector, it still comes under the supervision of the Lagos State Government Ministry of Health.
“Also, information about every patient managed by the hospitals must be made available to us so that we can record it in our database.
“COVID-19 remains a public crisis and all public crises are managed and supervised by the Lagos state government and by extension the federal government of Nigeria.”
Abayomi described management of COVID-19 patients by private facilities in the state without the knowledge and approval of the government as illegal.
The commissioner stressed that every COVID-19 patient in the state must be known to the government for adequate data capturing.
He said: “If you are managing COVID-19 without government permission and we are not capturing your cases in our database, you are performing an illegal act, according to the laws of Lagos State.
“So, if you want to manage COVID-19 in Lagos State, we are not saying you cannot. All you need to do is to submit an application and we will visit your facility to ensure that you have the required equipment and specialised personnel to manage COVID-19 cases.
“If you can demonstrate that you can do all these, then we will give you the approval to manage the disease.”