The Federal Government has said that the Chinese medical team currently in the country to support the COVID-19 fight are still observing the 14-day quarantine policy.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, this on Friday in Abuja, at the 14th joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
The minister, however, said that the Chinese team are already sharing their experiences with officials and partners of the ministry who are in communications with them via teleconferencing.
“The Chinese team are still in quarantine for 14 days but our directors, officials and technical partners in the ministry have had a teleconference with them, in which they exchanged ideas and were able to learn a lot of things about how they handled their cases, patients and how they carried out their infection prevention,” Ehanire said.
He also said that no private facility has been accredited in the country at the moment for the treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19), as none has yet meet the ministry’s accreditation criteria.
He said that Lagos is looking at some hospitals for treating coronavirus and that private hospitals must show that they have the staff, doctors and nurses, that must be infectious disease specialists and are trained in infection and control protocols.
He said, “The hospital must also have cleaners who are trained. The hospital must also be properly delineated as it is in clean and dirty areas. There is no hospital that I know that has met the criteria in the country at the moment. Treating of private patients is not allowed because the risk is very high. If the treatment of patients gets complicated, before you rushed them to the hospital, it will be too late for the person. So, the earlier they begin their treatment in an accredited and certified hospital the better it is.”
On the question of traditional or alternative medicine practitioners to cure the COVID-19, the minister said that he will not dispute their claims, but has forwarded their letters to the department for traditional alternative and complementary medicines in the ministry.
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