Scores of coronavirus positive residents avoid isolation centres in Lagos state
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that many residents who tested positive for coronavirus are now on the running, to avoid from being taken to isolation centres for treatment, hence, one of the reasons the state still has unoccupied beds at the isolation centres despite recording more cases than its bed-capacity.
Penpushing reports that, Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, made this known at the state secretariat when responding to the question on the discrepancy between the occupancy of the isolation centres and the number of active cases in the state.
“There is also a situation that we experience, when we test people, sometimes. The ambulances will go into community, people will flee their homes, and they find it difficult to find them they make it difficult for us to find them.”
The commissioner lamented that said some positive patients sometimes shut their doors or they leave their environment when they see health workers, to avoid being admitted, adding that in similar vein, the patients do not answer their phones as well.
Penpushing further reports that, Abayomi said this is because people are afraid to come to the isolation centres declaring that the ministry has no time to start hunting people round the community.
“If you have tested positive, we expect you to cooperate with us and make yourself available so that you can be admitted and accessed. Our isolation facilities are really comfortable, it is not like the Ebola days, we have made a lot of improvements. Members of the executive and senior people in government have been admitted into those facilities. If I test positive, I will go to one of those facilities,”he said.
The commissioner appealed to the Lagos residents to stop entertaining any fear, assuring them that, the staff are very professional,disclosing that, the state still has about 307 unoccupied beds out of the 569 total bed spaces available in the state.
The commissioner said, this was so, because most patients are yet to be admitted, while most are on the run after testing positive for coronavirus,stressing that, the state has 569 bed-capacity and 45 per cent overall occupancy, while 307 bed spaces are available.
“We have just opened Gbagada Hospital and we are yet to admit most of the patients we want to admit into Gbagada. As soon as we fill Gbadaga up, our occupancy will increase to over 70 or 80 percent.
Penpushing also reports that, the commissioner gave breakdown of the isolation centres and bed-capacity in Lagos State as of Friday as include: Gbagada Hospital- 118, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) – 60, Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba -115, Onikan Stadium Centre – 10, Landmark Centre- 70,Lekki Centre- 45, Agidingbi Centre – 34 and First Cardiology Hospital – 5 (Critical case).
