Health workers to govts: Provide more testing, isolation centres

The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria has called on the federal and state governments to provide more testing centres, rapid test kits and isolation centres in the country.

The President and the Secretary-General of the union,  Biobelemoye Josiah, and Silas Adamu, respectively in a statement on Tuesday, said this was necessary in case the country witnessed more cases of COVID-19 with the easing of the lockdown.

The medical and health workers said being frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19, they were concerned that easing the lockdown would result in dramatic increase in the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.

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“Our fear is premised on the experience of other countries where after the lockdown was relaxed, the spread of the disease was unimaginable,” they said.

The union enjoined government at all levels to provide large quantities of Personal Protective Equipment  and other consumables to health workers

It specifically called on the Federal Government to order the release of all withheld salaries of health workers.