Sixty-four percent (64%) of coronavirus cases recorded so far in Lagos State are males, the State’s Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi has said, adding that most of the patients are within the range of 30 to 59 age groups.
He revealed that out of 98 confirmed cases recorded since the index case was reported in February only four are between 60 years and above, stressing that 24 out of the 98 confirmed cases have been discharged from the isolation center at the Mainland infectious disease hospital (IDH) in Yaba.
Abayomi who addressed the press Friday afternoon said three of the patients discharged from isolation centre earlier in the day are females including an 8-week-old baby along with her mother.
He said, in the first four weeks, 82 percent of the cases were imported and 12 percent were contacts of the imported cases. Since the temporary ban on flights and the lockdown thereafter, he said the number of imported cases has reduced, while that of local transmission within Communities has increased with 32 percent local transmission.
“The total number of Nigerians at the infectious disease hospital is 91 percent Nigerians and nine percent foreign nationals.”
He revealed that the Gbagada isolation centre will be open next week while the isolation facility donated by GTB at the Mobolaji Johnson stadium Onikan will be commissioned too. With three isolation centres, he said Lagos will have the capacity for a total of 300 bed spaces. Six more isolation facilities will be built in the next month, he said. For now, he said the IDH is the only isolation facility used and only 70 percent of its bed space have been used.
“We test between 200 to 300 everyday in Lagos at the IDH in Yaba, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the Nigeria institute of medical research (NIMR). We are ramping up our capacity and we have adequate stock for testing. We are carrying on training for health workers which includes Doctors, Nurses, hygienists and general health workers.”
“The lockdown and social distancing have been effective in reducing the numbers of contacts we had to trace. As at April 2, the total number of contacts being traced was 2,450. We are achieving a decrease in contact tracing.”
According to Abayomi, most cases are mild and moderate and there were only two patients with moderate to severe cases. Such patient, he explained only needs oxygen due to difficulty in breathing and if their case worsens, will require a ventilator. He said their case may deteriorate without support. Some of the patients really do not need to be in the hospital, “but they are in the hospital just to isolate them from the community. We may see critical cases as the number increases,” he said.
“An infection will eventually run out if there are no more people to infect. To avoid getting infected, people need to practice social distancing. If adhered to, we will soon get rid of the virus,” he stated.
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