‘COVID-19 first wave prepared us for second wave’

The immediate past Commissioner of Health in Edo State, Dr. Patrick Okundia, has said the preparation for the first wave of COVID-19 has placed Edo State in the best position to respond well to the second wave of the pandemic.

He said the state and its medical professionals are ready to contain the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world.

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Okundia said this in Benin, during an award party organised by the Medical and Dental Consultants Association (MDCAN), Edo State Hospital Management Board chapter.

He said the fear of the first wave of COVID-19 forced the state to ensure that it left no stone unturned in getting things done properly.

“The first wave of COVID-19 helped us to look inward at the decay in the health sector of the state and also assisted us to raise the level of our health system to where it is now.

“We have the second wave coming now. We are actually over-prepared because all the necessary preparation, structures, facilities and personnel are all in place.”

He said the health sector response preparedness was achieved in the state during the first wave, adding that it prepared the state for any other outbreak, including the second wave of the coronavirus.

He, however, said lives that were lost in the first wave in the state were those that could have died without COVID-19 because they were vulnerable persons.

Also speaking, a former permanent secretary, Edo State Hospital Management Board, Dr. Peter Ugbodaga, charged members of the association to continue their professional development to be efficient and productive.

He noted that with the present crop of medical professionals and other people working with Governor Godwin Obaseki, the state will achieve a viable health sector and universal health coverage for all.

Earlier, the MDCAN’s Chairman, Dr. Victor Ohenhen, Consultant Gynaecologist, said the event was to honour members who retired from the service, immediate past state commissioner of health and other members who were in the frontline in the battle against the COVID-19 in the state.