COVID-19: Lagos running out of bed spaces as infections spike
By Molade Adegbuyi
The Lagos State Government has said that henceforth, only COVID-19 patients with critical conditions will now be admitted in her overburdened isolation centres.
This development is coming amidst rising cases of daily infection in the country’s epic centre. Fresh reports monitored by Irohinoodua indicated that Lagos State is running out of bed spaces raising serious challenge of a possible perilous times ahead.
The Lagos Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi said on Thursday that the state will now concentrate on people with severe cases.
He said: “We have exceeded the containment phase now. We are at the active community transmission stage. We will be concentrating on people with severe cases and isolating them while mild cases will be managed at home. Our attention is shifting to community-based isolation.”
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), in her latest report indicated that the state recorded 199 , out of the 284 new infections.
Ten other states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded as follows: Rivers (26); Oyo (19); eight each in FCT and Borno; Plateau (seven); Jigawa (six); Kano (five); Abia (two) and one each in Ekiti, Delta, Kwara and Taraba.
The NCDC put the national tally at 6,677, discharged patients at 1840 and the recorded deaths at 200.
Meanwhile, rapid testing for COVID-19 is ongoing in the armed forces and the police in Lagos following the discovery of many positive cases among officers and men, it was learnt.
Many security agents working in the state, the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, might have contracted Coronavirus in the course of duty because they are mostly medical officers.
It was also learnt that most of those on the front line in enforcing presidential COVID-19 prevention orders such as lockdown and social distancing had fallen sick and resorted to taking malaria drugs and other herbal mixtures.
Some of the operatives, Irohinoodua gathered, were among those quarantined at isolation and treatment centres across the state.
A Naval Lieutenant commander died from coronavirus complications at the weekend, causing panic among officers and men of the Navy.
Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) of Western Naval Command Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, who confirmed the officer’s death, explained that he failed to survive because of his underlying ailment.
Rear Admiral Daji said: “He was on treatment but unfortunately, had complications on Saturday night and before we could rush him to the hospital, he gave up.
“All those that had contact with him have been traced. He lived alone. He was unmarried. Four people had contacts with him. They are someone who visited when he heard that the officer was in isolation; his driver, orderly and steward.
“Their samples have all been taken and they have been isolated, we are expecting that their results will come out but there’s no cause for alarm at all.”
The FOC said there are other eight positive cases of Naval officers/men in the command, adding that over 1,300 tests had been conducted