There is anxiety in Lokoja, Kogi State capital as speculations over the death of four patients with COVID-19 symptoms at the Federal Medical Centre has spread.
The speculations were fueled by a post on Twitter which went viral on social media on Tuesday.
“On Saturday, a patient died at FMC, Lokoja, Kogi State, after exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. His samples weren’t taken. That was the fourth such death at the FMC last week alone. Not once were the patient’s samples taken, dead or alive. It was a familiar cover-up.
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“March 22 was the first time this scenario occurred. A patient who came into Kogi from Lagos required a CS. The patient exhibited COVID-19 symptoms, prompting the hospital to request for her to be tested. It was turned down. The patient was isolated for some time, surgery was done and she was discharged without testing.
“Last week, there were some patients in the O&G ward who manifested respiratory issues, inability to breathe, and other COVID-19 symptoms. Three of them died. They’d come from private hospitals, one in Lokoja, another in Okene, and the third in Ogudu.
“The first of the trio, Mrs GI (her initials), a 43-year-old woman, who arrived at the hospital on Thursday, had a temperature of 38.8°C. The other two had temperatures of more than 40°C. In each case, no sample was taken before or after death.
“Now, on the final day of the week, a patient admitted to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Ward with a temperature of 40.3°C was transferred to the male medical ward. The patient spent three hours in the ward and then died.
“One more patient exhibited potential COVID-19 symptoms on Sunday but moves for sample collection were futile; by yesterday, the patient was dead,” one Fisayo Soyombo, had alleged on a twitter handle @fisayosoyombo.
He said the FMC had been warned that if it breached protocol by sending anyone’s samples to the NCDC, it would be shut down on the pretext of exposure to the virus.
He also noted that none of the three isolation centres at SDG/FAREC Clinic, the Kogi State Diagnostics Centre and the Maimuna and Usman Yahaya Foundation Hospital was ready for use.
“A patient can’t be taken into any of them. The only ready space is at Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, where Lassa fever cases were once managed. And it has only four beds. All are just building structures, no equipment at all for the doctors to work with.”
The situation was coming amid a threat by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) to withdraw services over condition which put their members at risk.
The Chairman, Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), Comrade Obajemu Samuel, had averred that health workers at the FMC were daily exposed to the danger of contracting the dreaded disease since there was no provision for testing of patients to know their status
He noted that the workers were made more vulnerable due to non-availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE’s) to safeguard them from infection.
Also, The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) through its Chairman, Dr Zubairu Kabir had raised alarm over the absence of testing channels for patients who showed coronavirus symptoms, warning that the situation could escalate the transmission of the virus.
The Chief Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Olatunde Alabi, could not speak on the development as he neither responded to text messages and calls by our reporter.
However, the commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo in his reaction said “FMC will be in the best interest to respond.
“FMC is a Federal institution. We don’t have the mandate to talk about their patients,” he said.
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