COVID-19: Shortage Of Bed Spaces Hit Lagos Isolation Centres

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said the biggest challenge, especially in Lagos, is the shortage of bed spaces to accommodate the increasing number of positive cases.

Director General of the NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, disclosed this on Thursday during the presidential taskforce briefing on COVID-19.

According to Ihekweazu, “The biggest challenge now is in Lagos, where bed spaces are really tight. We are really struggling.

“We are struggling at the moment for bed spaces.

“Across the country, we have about 3,500 bed spaces identified as available for COVID-19, but in Lagos we’re already struggling. So we’re going to work with them to keep trying to make more spaces available, but ultimately we might have to change our strategy a little bit and start considering home care in certain circumstances, where the person, you’re able to provide a room where a patient can be managed sufficiently , and secondly we’re able to support the care by enabling health care workers come to them.”

On the situation in Kano, the NCDC boss said the two laboratories are currently functioning: “Our response in Kano is improving. We now have two labs functioning and a third one is in the pipeline.”

Meanwhile, the total confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Lagos is now 947 after the NCDC confirmed 87 new cases on Wednesday.

Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, while responding to a question, said 113 health workers have been infected with COVID-19.

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

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