Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said more isolation centres and holding facilities will be commissioned in the state in preparation for an increase in cases of COVID-19.
Lagos Health Commissioner
Mr Abayomi said at a press conference at the state secretariat on Sunday that Lagos is beginning to see more cases of infection in the community which might quickly overwhelm the state’s health system.
Giving an overview of what is happening in the state, Mr Abayomi said the number of cases recorded between April 1 and 8 showed that the virus tangent was being flattened, but as of April 18, a lot more cases have been recorded daily in the state.
“We now have a consistent double digit in terms of new cases and those numbers seem to be increasing, “he said.
Mr Abayomi said data from active case community search shows that in about one million households tested, 29 people had respiratory distress, while 1,000 people are with symptoms that could qualify for coronavirus.
He, however, said not all of the cases are related to COVID-19 because there are many other medical conditions with symptoms related to COVID-19.
“Out of 300 cases sampled, only three patients have symptoms related to the COVID virus while others are said to have other causes.”
The commissioner said if the state begins to record thousands of cases weekly, the health system will be overwhelmed, hence the need to increase isolation and holding capacity.
Giving a breakdown of the new facilities the state will commission in the coming weeks, Mr Abayomi said a 70-bed capacity isolation centre at Landmark, Eti-Osa local government, will be commissioned on Monday, while the Gbagada facility with 160-bed capacity will be ready soon.
Another 150-bed capacity is being set up at Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, and another 300-capacity permanent facility at the same hospital which will be ready in the next two to three months, the commissioner said.
Mr Abayomi added that some hotels are being converted to holding centres where individuals suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19 will be held until their status is confirmed.
He said three hotels in Epe area of the state had been approved to deal with travellers moving from one part of the country to another, while another hotel in Lekki was commissioned to hold mild cases of coronavirus.
“We also have a hotel in Victoria Island as a holding centre, another hotel in Ikeja, one private medical facility at Ikoyi and one marine vessel that has been converted into a holding facility,” he said.
As of Sunday, Lagos State has 306 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 194 active cases, 93 recovered cases, two evacuated cases, three transferred cases and 14 deaths.
