April 3, 2020
By Ijendu Iheaka
Abia government has warned its health workers and caregivers to stop rejecting patients coming to their facility with some symptoms like covid-19 until such patients are tested and confirmed.
Abia Health Commissioner, Dr Joe Osuji gave the warning in an interview with our Correspondent in Aba on Friday.
Osuji said that at the moment three suspected Coronavirus cases in Abia tested negative and with the result, there are no reported cases of the disease in Abia.
He said that even the laboratory test result of one person identified simply as Miracle whose case most people thought was coronavirus came negative.
Osuji also said he received information about a patient who rumourmill said died Thursday of Coronavirus who was not infected by the disease.
“What actually happened as we were made to understand, from the report I got last night was that in one of the hospitals in the state somebody died.
“And because of the patient’s situation, they now said it was a coronavirus case.
“I got in touch with the doctor who looked after the patient and he said the patient had been with his case since last year, 2019.
“So for now we can say that there is no coronavirus case in Abia, if there is such a case, we will tell you.
“There will be no use hiding such a disease because if you hide a sickness it will kill the person; Why should we hide it after all it is not a death sentence and should have no stigma”, he said.
Osuji therefore frowned at the state’s health workers’ new attitude to patients which is aiding rumors about the disease being in Abia.
He said patients should not be rejected because they are coughing or have fever adding that such patients should also not be tagged Covid-19 cases until they test positive.
“The problem we are having with health institutions now is that when a patient reports to them with coughing, or fever, they say oooh nooo, take him away. That is the case we are having now.
“Prior to the coronavirus outbreaks, didn’t people have cases of coughing and fever and they go to hospitals and get treated?
“Why must people having these kind of symptoms be rejected by hospitals? People having tuberculosis were still being treated before this era.
“So why are our health institutions driving away people who have come to them for treatment?, he asked.
The commissioner said it was important for health workers who have taken oaths to save lives, to first of all, prepare well, guard themselves with protective kits and attend to patients with right equipment.
“Examine your patients when they come and then make your diagnosis and say I think this patient needs to be tested for so and so and then you call the Covid-19 Call Centre.
“Then the Rapid Response Team will come collect the sample and send and when the result comes out, if it is positive, we take over management of the case.
“But if it negative the patient continues getting treated in that facility and later re-integrated into the society”, he said.
Osuji urged rumour-mongers in Abia not to increase resident’s anxiety through peddling false rumors about the presence of the disease in Abia.
He said that the government will always work with the relevant media to give the people correct information about the situation.
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