Edo State government on Wednesday showcased 13 ventilators attached to the infectious disease isolation Centre at the Stella Obasanjo hospital in Benin City, designated to take care of patients diagnosed with Covid-19.

Speaking during a guided tour with journalists at a 12-bed capacity in the hospital, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, said the “Centre has been ready for operationalization since the past three weeks”.

Okundia stated that “no patient has been admitted to the unit yet, adding that 4,218 medical personnel are already undergoing basic training.

“All the personnel are undergoing training. Today, tomorrow, is facility training and we are ready. This place is ready to handle any Coronavirus case when it comes.

The facility has a sitting capacity of six males and six females, totalling 12-bed capacity, according to him, would be expanded to a bigger capacity.

According to him, “There are guidelines and protocols about case management. If you see a patient who does not have any symptom at all yet. When the test result comes out positive, it is not for isolation. There is what we call holding area which we already have at Stella Obasanjo hospital and the Ogbe nursing hall both in Benin City.

“The regulation also says that if the patient has a private facility where he can he held, all you need to do is to apply infection prevention and control measures – preventing him from getting in contact with anybody.

“A patient can stay in that facility while we have our surveillance team going everyday to monitor him. But when the patient starts to develop symptoms, then, you starts to monitor him.

“If the symptoms get worse and it is now requiring hospitalization, then, then you now need a ventilator and oxygen concentrator. The patient will now be moved into a critical care stage. That is the way it is being managed.

“The important thing is that there are some persons who are stable, when you you get to the hospital, the atmosphere itself will make them sick. So, it is all about building confidence on the patient.

“As long as the symptoms are not there, the only risk that patient has is the risk of not transmitting the infection. Apply IPC measures and keep the patient away from other person to see and monitor the person.

“The new isolation centre boast of 28-bed capacity in addition to about four private wards”, he said.

He stated that the government is not considering total lockdown of Edo State which is gateway to other its neighbours over Covid-19 at the moment.

Recall that patents at the Stella Obasanjo hospital were relocated by the State government few weeks ago after the first confirmed case of Coronavirus was reported in Edo State.

Our Correspondent reports that a ventilator cost N6 million before the outbreak of Covid-19, is now been sold for N14 million.

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