Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has revealed that about 80 per cent of cases are being managed outside the isolation centres.
Dr. Sani Aliyu, the National Coordinator of the task force stated this while speaking at the daily PTF briefing on Thursday.
He noted that this is due to lack of adequate bed spaces in isolation centres across Nigeria, saying;
I know about 80 per cent of those that are positive in the country are currently being managed outside isolation facilities. The availability of beds varies across states. Some states have a lot of capacity in terms of beds. I know Kano, Lagos have run out of beds.
Dr. Sani Aliyu explained that;
A few other states are red. We actually have a line listing, an amber-coloured listing of states that are in the red, where you have more positive cases than beds available.
We cannot move patients around from one state to the other, so obviously, if we run out of spaces — Lagos, for instance, may have five or six times the number of cases than Kano which is the second state in terms of numbers of cases — you are going to have a lot of people contributing to that population.
The Federal Government had earlier hinted about the lack of adequate bed spaces for COVID-19 patients when the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the country was considering home-care treatment for patients.
The FG, to further free up isolation centres, the government, stated that it may consider discharging COVID-19 patients earlier than their required treatment and isolation period, even though they are still positive.
It also said schools and hotels may be used as isolation centres for COVID-19 patients if the need arises
As at June 11, a total of 14,554 COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Out of this figure, 4,494 recoveries and 387 deaths have been recorded.
