The federal government said Friday that no private facility in the country has been accredited as a treatment of coronavirus disease.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Health Dr Osagie Ehanire in Abuja during the daily media briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
“Lagos is looking at some hospitals for treating coronavirus. Private hospitals must show that they have the staff – doctors and nurses that must be infectious disease specialists and are trained in infection and control protocols,. The hospital must also have cleaners who are trained.
“The hospital must also be properly delineated as it is in clean and dirty areas. There is no hospital that I know that has met the criteria in the country at the moment.
“Treating of private patients is not allowed because the risk is very high. If the treatment of patients gets complicated, before you rushed them to the hospital, it will be too late for the person. So, the earlier they begin their treatment in an accredited and certified hospital the better it is,” he said.
The minister said the Chinese medical experts brought into the country to support the fight against the coronavirus disease are still observing the 14-day quarantine.
He said the doctors are, however, offering support via teleconferencing with officials and partners of the Federal Ministry of Health.
“The Chinese team are still in quarantine for 14 days but our directors, officials and technical partners in the ministry have had a teleconference with them, in which they exchanged ideas and were able to learn a lot of things about how they handled their cases, patients and how they carried out their infection prevention.
“The shipment that came in through the United Nations system and the one that came from China were decontaminated as a routine process. They have both been decontaminated by the same process by the Ministry of Environment,” he said.
With regards to the claims of finding cure for the coronavirus by traditional medicine practitioners, the minister said government would not comment on the claims until they are verified by the ministry’s Department of Traditional, Alternative and Complementary Medicines.
“We have had series of letters from traditional medical practitioners that have written to me that they have the cure for coronavirus. I have not disputed it, so I have referred such letters to the department of traditional medicine and I’m waiting for them to give me feedback on what they have discovered from the people,” he said.
