The Chairman of the FCT chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Enema Amodu, has said 20 doctors have died of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past seven days.
Bibian Anekwe News reports that the NMA chairman made this known while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Friday.
Amodu called on the federal government to provide health workers with personal protective equipment (PPEs) to effectively tackle the second wave of COVID-19.
He described the second wave of the virus as catastrophic following increase in confirmed cases across the country.
The NMA chairman said: “We are skilled, trained personnel to handle emergency conditions, and we need things to work with. We need ICUs; we need drugs; we need face masks; we need PPEs; we need hand sanitisers,” he said.
“This second wave is so overwhelming. This second wave is more catastrophic and this probably will be because a lot of people have gone back to the way of doing things. They thought the virus is over; it has come and it is gone and they’ve let their guards down.
“For those of us in the health sector, we’ve lost quite a number of colleagues in the last one week alone. Across the country, we have lost not less than 20 doctors in the last one week.”
He also advised patients to be sincere with medical personnel, especially on underlying conditions that may increase the risk of infection.
Amodu asked the federal government to begin an upward review of hazard allowance for health workers.
“We are not in any way demeaning anybody or insulting anybody. When you sit before a doctor, ensure the safe distance and comply. And when the doctor asks if there is any other problem, please be gracious enough to let them know if you’ve either just survived COVID-19, you’re on treatment for COVID-19, or your family member is on treatment for COVID-19. Please be honest,” he added.
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday evening, 25th December 2020, confirmed 712 new cases of Coronavirus disease infection in Nigeria.
The new cases of COVID-19 infection were confirmed via a statement on the official Twitter handle of the health agency.
This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria to 82,747 which includes 70,239 discharged cases and 1,246 deaths.
Below is the breakdown of the latest cases according to states with Lagos State having the highest number of cases followed by Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Lagos-388
FCT-77
Kwara-39
Katsina-35
Bauchi-33
Plateau-22
Ogun-18
Akwa Ibom-16
Delta-13
Kaduna-12
Osun-12
Yobe-11
Sokoto-10
Kebbi-8
Enugu-6
Edo-5
Ondo-3
Niger-2
Kano-1
Oyo-1
82,747 confirmed
70,239 discharged
1,246 deaths
