Ebonyi state Governor David Umahi weekend gave immediate directions for the sealing of the private hospital where the COVID-19 death occurred in the state.
The Special Assistant to the governor on media and publicity, Mr. Francis Nweze, made the disclosure to journalists in Abakaliki, the state capital after a closed door meeting of the state governor and members of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) response team at the new government house.
Nweze said the governor also asked for the immediate revoke of the Certificate of Occupancy of the hospital landed property by relevant authorities.
He noted that Umahi being angry at the admission and treatment of the patient in the unidentified private hospital, also ordered that the hospital management be prosecuted in accordance with Ebonyi state Coronavirus and Other Dangerous Infectious Diseases and Related Matters Law 2020.
According to the media aide, Umahi noted that the prosecution would serve as a warning to other hospitals that may want to toll the steps of the unfortunate private hospital without following NCDC protocols.
He used the opportunity to debunk the rumors making the rounds that the deceased COVID-19 patient was a judiciary staff, adding that nobody died in the Judiciary and such wrong information should be corrected.
“The governor during the chat directed that the COVID-19 reports in Ebonyi state should henceforth be made on a daily basis and should not be aggregated again. Separate reports, if it is 10 in a day, report the breakdown before aggregating them.”
He explained that there were plans by the state government to build two new testing centers at Onicha and Ishielu local government area which will bring to three the number of treatment centers in the state representing one per senatorial zone in the state.
He said that the plan would help in making testing of suspected cases easier and faster across the state.
