According to The Punch, the names of the private facilities were not given in a copy of the press release obtained.

The Lagos State Ministry of Health disclosed this at a news briefing to give situation report on COVID-19 management in the state while quoting the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.

Abayomi stressed that one of the accredited private hospitals is already admitting patients, adding that the other two will soon start admission and management of patients.

He said, “They have passed the biosecurity compliance test. They have made modifications to their hospitals so that their staff and other patients are not put in danger or exposed to a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

“Those private hospitals have passed the test and we are just in the process of issuing them with accreditation certificate so that they can start managing COVID19 patients in the private sector.

“However, even if they are managing COVID19 in the private sector, it still comes under the supervision of the Lagos State Government Ministry of Health.

“Also, information about every patient managed by the hospitals must be made available to us so that we can record it in our database.

“COVID-19 remains a public crisis and all public crises are managed and supervised by the Lagos state government and by extension the federal government of Nigeria,” Abayomi said.

Speaking on the illegal management of COVID-19 patients by private hospitals in the state without the knowledge and approval of the government, the Commissioner said, “If you are managing COVID-19 without government permission and we are not capturing your cases in our database, you are performing an illegal act, according to the laws of Lagos State.

“So, if you want to manage COVID-19 in Lagos State, we are not saying you cannot. All you need to do is to submit an application and we will visit your facility to ensure that you have the required equipment and specialised personnel to manage COVID-19 cases. If you can demonstrate that you can do all these, then we will give you the approval to manage the disease.”

This report was confirmed on Tuesday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the government agency on the front line in the fight against coronavirus.

It re-echoed the decision of the Lagos State Government that the hospitals will not operate for now.

In an update received by DAILY POST Tuesday afternoon, NCDC advised those that have been to such facilities to go into isolation.

The hospitals include; St Nicholas, Lagos Island branch; First Cardiology Consultants Hospital, Ikoyi (where Abba Kyari died); St Edwards Hospital, Ajah; Vedic Lifecare Hospital, Lekki; County Hospital, Ogba and Premier Specialist Hospital, Victoria Island.

“Consequently, all staff and/or family members who may have visited the hospital or staff who may have been in contact with anyone who visited any of the above-listed hospitals between April 10th, 2020 and April 19th 2020, are required to immediately call NCDC HOTLINE 080097000010”, it read.

Meanwhile, County Hospital, Ogba who spoke on TVC news this afternoon has debunked the claim that it treated any person with COVID-19 related symptoms in its facility, thereby noting that the hospital will not be lockdown and it is still in full operation.