Most of the 113 Health Workers Infected with COVID-19 are from Private Hospitals, Says Ehanire

Malik Yahya/

Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has disclosed that 113 health workers have been infected with COVID-19.

Ehanire disclosed this while addressing a question on the figures of infected healthcare workers in the country, during the presidential task force briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja today.

The minister said the surge in cases can be attributed to increased community transmission and the conduct of more tests.

He, however, said most of the infected healthcare workers are from private hospitals, thereby urging those unqualified to treat the virus to desist from doing so.

“There are not so many people in the health sector who are infected (with COVID-19). The latest figure we have is that there are about 113 actually. And they are not all public health workers, there are a good number from private hospitals,” he said.

“If you hear us speaking frequently against trying to treat coronavirus in private clinics, we are actually referring to people who do so without having necessary precautions and training.

“This is because they risk infecting themselves and they go home and give this infection to their family and that is not the right thing. So the health workers who have no training have no business handling coronavirus.

“For those who do not have equipment, we have said that we have provided equipment and PPE for all those who are out there. There are one or two places where we have heard that there is tightness in its supply and we have tried to send them over there.

“But let me remind you that there is a global shortage of PPE, many countries are struggling but we are doing everything we can to make sure that our frontline workers have these requirements and we also have a stockpile that we can send quickly to make sure there is no shortage.”

The minister added that the federal government is looking at domestic production to meet up demand of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Nigeria currently has 1,728 confirmed COVID-19 cases, out of which 307 patients have been discharged while 51 persons have died.

0