The Minister of State for Health, Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora has lamented the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health sector, citing the neglect it had caused to the care and attention given to HIV, tuberculosis and other ailments.
Mamora, who stated this at the national briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Monday, in Abuja, pointed out that though some benefits might have come from the pandemic, its negative impact had manifested in the reduced attention given to these dangerous diseases as everyone now focused on getting solutions to COVID-19.
He urged all health practitioners to forward cases of COVID-19 symptoms to approved laboratory centres promptly, in order to avoid unnecessary deaths, given the alarming reports that many of those who died, reported late for treatment at the centres because they were referred late from private facilities.
“We therefore once again seize this opportunity to urge healthcare practitioners to promptly send all suspected cases for testing and when positive, refer them to isolation centres for treatment.
“Attempting to treat suspected or confirmed cases not only exposes the health workers, in such a facility, to risk of infection but also denies the patient early access to effective treatment in an approved treatment centre,” he said.
Mamora further stated that the plan of the Federal Government to make oxygen available in the states was on course, as immediate repairs of non-functional oxygen plants had begun.
He also noted that results from tests conducted on prospective NYSC members had incontrovertibly, confirmed that no part of the country was free of COVID-19 disease.
“We safely and comfortably draw this conclusion because corps members are mobilised from all the states of the country for each of the orientation camps,” he said. (NAN)
