Kogi State Resident Doctors Agitated Over Non-testing Of Suspected COVID-19 Cases

Resident doctors in Kogi State are worried by the lack of testing in the state.

This was disclosed by Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association in the state, Kabir Zubair.

He made the revelation in reaction to the report by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control that Kogi had sent in only one sample since COVID-19 found its way into Nigeria. Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello

He added that doctors had been receiving suspected patients and have been unable to conduct laboratory tests on them.

He said,

“Although no confirmed case has been reported in Kogi State till date, a number of suspected cases have been attended to at FMC Lokoja and members of ARD are among the first to attend to these patients and as such, they might be exposed to the highly contagious COVID-19.

“The NMA is aware that they have become agitated and apprehensive in the last few months due to the community spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

“As a clinician, standard practice demands that the moment you have a clinical suspicion of infectious diseases, the ideal thing is to carry out laboratory confirmation.

“COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease responsible for the ongoing global pandemic. In Nigeria, new cases are reported daily and community spread is accelerating. This is the reason why members of ARD are agitated as testing for COVID-19 has remained a challenge in the state.”