A scary and cheerless news came from the Lagos Medical Guild on Monday as it announced that 16 medical doctors in the state have tested positive for the deadly Coronavirus.
The Medical Guild, an association of doctors in the employ of the Lagos State Government, said members were in the frontline of the battle against the viral infection.
Consequently, he announced that 16 doctors had been infected and had been admitted into several isolation centers across Lagos.
Persecondnews reports that Lagos State still remains the epic centre of the ravaging the virus with the highest fatalities and confirmed cases.
It has so far recorded 1,107 cases, 247 recovered and discharged and 30 fatalities out of the national figure of 2,558 confirmed cases, 400 recovered and 87 deaths across the country.
According to the Guild Chairman, Dr Oluwajimi Sodipo, there is the possibility of a higher number of doctors being infected, but that by the available data, only 16 have so far been confirmed COVID-19 positive.
He explained that doctors were actively engaged in training, contact tracing, surveillance, public enlightenment and case management of coronavirus patients, pointing out that the frontline activities of the healthcare professionals significantly increased possibility of disease transmission.
“Rising incidence of the viral pandemic in the state, as well as the commencement of community transmission among residents had given rise to a situation in which everyone was at risk of contracting the deadly infection,’’ Sodipo said.
On how to mitigate the risks of rising infection in the state, the Guild chair called on the state government to increase testing capacity and ramp up contact tracing.
“This is with the aim to curb further spread of the pandemic and reduce health workers exposure to the viral disease.’’
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