Kelvin Peter, Warri
The Chief Medical Director, Central Hospital, Warri, Dr. Paul OKubor has said that the lady, Omamuzo Ijala, in the hospital’s isolation center who said she does not have Coronavirus is responding to treatment.
Ijala who was taken into isolation at the Central hospital, Warri, had phoned a radio station in Delta state and said did not test positive with COVID-19 but she was forcefully taken into isolation.
CMD of the hospital said no patient who is COVID-19 negative is being isolated in at the center.
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Okubor told journalists in Warri on Friday that, “the rumour trending on social media platform that a patient who is COVID-19 negative is being isolated here in warri hospital’s Isolation Centre, was not true.
“Only those who are COVID-19 positive are brought into the Isolation Centre for treatment. If the test is done and the result comes out negative, it is communicated to the person and if positive, it is also communicated to the person.
“If positive, government takes responsibility by taken the patient to isolation centre for treatment.
“One, to ensure the person will die and secondly remove the person from the larger society so as not to spread the virus.
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“If positive, those in contact with the person are traced and depending on the level of interaction with the positive case, government can say go into self isolation.
“If that is not possible, they can be taken to Isolation Centre to be properly quarantined for 14 days.
“The patient in the hospital’s Isolation Centre was responding to treatment.
“We are not in the business of social media stigmatisation. Confidentiality of our patient is key to us in our centre, we do not release names, our business is to care for them.
“Aside the routine protocols of washing hands and social distancing among others, society needs to show high level of responsibilities and sensitivity.
“We must ensure there is no stigmatisation of people with COVID-19.
“If we do not stop the stigmatisation and fake news going on in the social media, those who have the reasons to come to the hospital will not come forward because of stigmatisation.
“If they do not come forward, they will continue to spread it and the society will suffer for it. So very importantly, we must stop stigmatisation and fake news,” CMD Okubor said.
The patient had narrated how she was humiliated by medical personnel at the hospital.
