COVID-19: "Increasing Cases Can Exceed Government's Capacity To Cope" - Health Minister

The minister stated that the country had 112 treatment and isolation centres in the 36 states and the FCT with a total of 5,324 beds.

COVID-19: "Increasing Cases Can Exceed Government's Capacity To Cope" - Health Minister
Dr. Osagie Ehanire

The Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has warned that Nigeria's health system could not cope with increasing COVID-19 cases.

Dr. Osagie Ehanire disclosed this on Wednesday at the Presidential Task Force press conference in Abuja, stating that 21 states have fewer than 100-bed spaces each for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. 

The minister stated that the country had 112 treatment and isolation centers in the 36 states and the FCT with a total of 5,324 beds.

He added that only five states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, had at least the prescribed 300 beds.

The minister said, “Though not surprising, we are concerned about the increasing number of confirmed cases. This is because very high cases could seriously exceed the capacity of our health system to cope. Routine cases may also suffer as a result. Therefore, non-pharmaceutical preventive approach is still our best strategy.

 

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“At present, we have a total of 112 treatment and isolation centers in all the 36 states and the FCT with 5,324 beds. While only five states including the FCT have at least 300 beds as prescribed for isolation and treatment, 21 states have less than 100-bed spaces.

He added that the Federal Government has asked philanthropists to set up treatment centers.

He added; “As the number of confirmed cases increases, there is an urgent need to expand our treatment centers across the country. I, therefore, call on the state governors and philanthropists to take active and deliberate steps to scale up the number of beds for isolation and treatment of confirmed cases in their states.”

The health minister said the Nigerian medical researchers working with foreign partners had been able to ascertain that the strain of COVID-19 in Nigeria was the same in Wuhan, China, where the virus first broke out.