Don’t Allow COVID-19 Degenerate to Micro Level Transmission, Gynaecologists Tell Govts

Don’t Allow COVID-19 Degenerate to Micro Level Transmission, Gynaecologists Tell Govts

The Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SGON) has urged both federal and state governments to intensify the COVID-19 fight to prevent the pandemic from degenerating from community transmission to the micro level.

SGON’s National President, Prof. Oluwarotimi Akinola gave the advice at the weekend during the public presentation of personal protection equipment to the Lagos State Government at the state’s Medical Warehouse, Lekki.

Akinola made the donation of 100 pieces of protective face shield and 20 crates of Maltina drink, among others, alongside the Chairman of SGON, Lagos State Chapter, Dr Joseph Akinde, SGON’s Vice Chairman, Dr Abidoye Gbadegesin and the Secretary, Dr Kehinde Okunade.

Speaking at the presentation, Akinola expressed concern about the claims by some state governors that the pandemic has not got to their states.

He, therefore, urged the federal government to exercise its power to ensure that tests for the virus were carried out in those states to determine their true status.

According to him, the face shields were for medical personnel performing surgery on Covid19 patients or those carrying out child delivery of pregnant Covid19 patients.

Akinde lamented the rate of infection of medical personnel and the death of some of them attending to COVID-19 patients, saying it was of great concern to the society and that that was what challenged the branch to make the donation to enhance their jobs and also save their lives.

Akinde said the society frowned at reports that some health
worker were sent to treat Covid19 patients without being equipped to safely perform their job.

He noted that this amounted to sending soldiers “to the war-front without arming them. The malt drink was the society’s stimulus for their colleagues on line of duty to cool down after a hard day assignment.

Akinde, Medical Director of Living Spring Hospital, Ejigbo, reacted to a statement by the state government that some Covid19 patients would be handled at home.

He warned his colleagues, especially those in the private sector not to engage in handling Covid19 patients except their facilities had been accredited for that purpose and were adequately equipped to do so.

He noted that the clear message from the home-treatment decision was that every Lagosian must now fully take responsibility for his or her safety and survival.

“As bitter and difficult to swallow this message could be, it remains the bitter truth which all Nigerians, not just Lagosians should have imbibed from the first day of the outbreak in Nigeria, this would have saved the country a lot in terms of transmission and deployment of scarce funds and facilities.”

Giving expert explanation on why earlier moves by government to re-calibrate tuberculosis testing centres located all over the country to COVID-19 centre, Akinola said this was due to the issue of bio-safety, which is essential to using the tuberculosis machine for COVID-19 test because these centres have no in-built bio-safety mechanism.

He also said it was the same bio-safety problem that made it impossible to use private medical laboratories scattered all over the country for Civid19 test as proposed by some concerned groups.

According to him, it was the absence of bio-safety facility that caused the massive infection that happened in Kano recently when some people ignorantly used some medical laboratories in the city to carry out test for the virus.

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