Lagos isolates 4 medical staff as nursing mother dies of COVID-19

 

The Lagos State Government has confirmed the first COVID-19 death at the State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Saturday morning.

Following the development, four persons involved in the management of the patient have been placed on isolation.

Confirming the development on behalf of the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Prof Adetokunbo Fabanwo, Vanguard that the body of the patient has been evacuated to Yaba isolation centre.

According to Fabanwo who said he had the permission of the health commissioner to speak to the press, four persons in the hospital who managed the patients have been identified and placed on isolation.

He said: “The patient came here on Wednesday. She had a delivery somewhere outside LASUTH, but she had complications of severe infection. She had pneumonia and diabetes mellitus.

“So, our very intelligent doctors found that apart from all those things that were wrong with her suspected coronavirus and universal precautions were taken by all the staff that was handling the case.

“Also, we got the people from NCDC to come and take the sample while we were treating her but eventually, she died this (Saturday) morning.”

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He said the place where the woman was being managed would be fumigated and shut down for a while.

“All the people who came in contact with her who are not sure whether they took enough precaution have started the isolation. We have four of them in isolation now,” Fabanwo stated.

Asked if LASUTH was involved in the treatment of coronavirus, Fabanwo said: “We do not treat cases of COVID 19; no facility is permitted to treat apart from the ones the government has designated to treat.

“We only refer suspected cases. We are advocating that every case that comes in this era, all our doctors should suspect them, that is going to heighten the level of precaution they will take so that they will not expose themselves to any danger. Some don’t even have symptoms.”

It could be recalled that the commissioner had earlier announced a fourth death of COVID-19 in a private hospital in Lagos. With the addition of the death at LASUTH Lagos now has 5 deaths from the virus.