The healthcare professionals in Katsina State have raised concerns over non availability of basic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for both health workers and patients in the wave of this COVID 19 pandemic.
The government has, however, debunked this claim.
The chairman of the Coalition of Healthcare professionals in Katsina State, Dr Mohammed Nafiu Abdulaziz, while reading the communique at the end of its meeting, said though no case had been confirmed in Katsina State, there was the need for proper preparation.
According to him, the coalition had noted the absence of some critical pillars in the state Covid-19 task force which has resulted in the absence of quarantine system, case evaluation, case isolation and case management.
He said: “The leadership of healthcare professionals are not being involved in the state preparedness efforts against Covid-19. We recommend the activation of a special system for active case search and contact tracing with efficiently gadgeted suspect conveyance ambulances.
“We demand for fully equipped isolation center(s) to be provided devoid of existing hospital settings, of which Katsina City Mall as well as the IDP camp have been identified as suitable/alternative options,” he said.
Nafiu stressed the need for the state government to liaise with the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in provision of testing laboratory in Katsina State by decentralizing the NCDC laboratory.
However, when contacted the permanent secretary in the ministry of Health, Dr Kabir Mustapha, said the state has some quantity of PPE for emergency use on suspected cases.
He said the state’s response is being coordinated centrally by the Epidemiologists at the state Primary healthcare development agency.
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