The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disclosed that 476 health workers including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory staff, drivers and other auxiliary personnel have been infected with Coronavirus (COVID-19) since the first case was recorded in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Anthony Ogunleye, Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister Muhammed Bello revealed that four doctors succumbed to the disease, the latest being a female doctor.
Ogunleye further revealed that hospitals are operating at full capacity, including emergencies for adults, children, delivery and maternity services, 24-hour theatre service and other services despite the challenge of the virus in the FCT and Yuletide.
The statement read “The attention of the Federal Capital Territory Administration has been drawn to a newspaper publication saying that FCT hospitals are presently rendering skeletal services due to the death of 20 medical doctors of COVID-19. This figure which is very far from the truth was credited to Dr Enemo Amadu, the President of the FCT chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association. Dr Amadu had since said that he was misquoted, as the 20 fatalities he gave was the national figure of doctors who died of the disease, cutting across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. It is still pertinent that the FCTA sets the records straight in view of the fact that public confidence in public health institutions is very essential in the face of the current public health emergency orchestrated by COVID-19. While there had been incidences where COVID-19 positive patients had infected some medical personnel, this personnel and indeed the patients had been treated and discharged and the affected hospitals fully decontaminated. There has not been any other recorded fatality of health personnel over the last week. It is important to mention that these fatalities did not in any way affect the quality of services rendered in hospitals and most certainly not to the point of rendering skeletal services”.