Following the confirmation of two COVID-19 cases in Abia State on Monday night, the management of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, a federal institution, on Tuesday asked all patients and their care givers to immediately vacate the hospital.
A senior management staff in the hospital told NEXT EDITION in Umuahia that if the stern measure to evacuate every patient was not done, the pandemic might spread rapidly in the state through the hospital.
The staff disclosed that one patient, an elderly woman, suspected to be suffering from Coronavirus was mistakenly admitted and put in one of the private wards in the hospital.
The source said the woman could have been one of the two cases that were confirmed on Monday night to be positive.
“Because of that, we thought that no one is safe; patients, their caregivers, nurses and doctors. Therefore, the safest thing to do is to ask everybody in the hospital to go home to enable us fumigate the place to ensure safety.
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“The immediate lockdown of the hospital is for the total and overall interest of the people of the state, because, if the management does not take this concrete action, the health of our people would be in jeopardy, including those the hospital is treating.
“Remember that these two cases have had contacts with some people, who may rush to the hospital when the symptom manifests and in the process, endanger the lives of medical staff and other people in FMC,” he added.
When our correspondent visited the hospital, there was apprehension on the faces of relations of some of the patients being forced out as most of their loved ones, were in critical conditions and needed continued medical attention.
It would be recalled that last Monday night, the state government announced the confirmation of two COVID-19 cases in the state, even as the government asked the citizens not to panic.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. John Okiyi Kalu, asked the people not to panic, but should continue to adhere strictly to the health rules and advice of the health experts and the committee on COVID-19 set up by the state government over the Coronavirus.
