There are strong indications that a major crisis is looming in Nigeria’s battle against coronavirus as COVID-19 cases are rising compared to bed-spaces available for patients that are being treated for the disease.
On Saturday, COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 12,233, with 8, 065 of them active and 3,826 patients discharged.
But the Federal Ministry of Health revealed on Friday that there were 6,994 bed-spaces nationwide for COVID-19 patients. Bluebloodz.com gathered that between Friday and Sunday, additional bed-spaces had not been provided despite the rising cases.
However, the Federal Ministry of Health, in response to enquiries on Friday, said only few states such as Lagos and Kano were battling with a shortage of bed-spaces.
The ministry also gave more insights into its proposed home treatment for COVID-19 patients, saying home care would not be adopted for coronavirus patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
The ministry stated these through its Director of Hospital Services, Dr Adebimpe Adebiyi, in its response .
when asked about the guidelines for home treatment and the number of bed-spaces available for COVID-19 patients in the country.
Dr. Adebiyi admitted that states such as Lagos with 5,729 cases and Kano, with 997 cases were battling with a shortage of bed-spaces.
She, however, said the Federal Capital Territory and Ogun State had low bed occupancy rates.
The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu had, at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on April 30, said the Federal Government was considering home treatment for COVID-19 patients because of a shortage of bed-spaces.
He said,
“We are going to work with that to keep trying and making more spaces available but ultimately we might have to change our strategy a little bit, considering home care in certain circumstances where the person is able to provide a room where he or she can be managed sufficiently and secondly, we are able to support the care by enabling health workers to come to the house.”
But Adebiyi, in an email sent by the ministry on Friday, said there were 7,522 active cases in the country with 6,994 beds. She, however, said states were making efforts to increase the number of bed-spaces for COVID-19 patients.
The director stated, “There are currently 7,522 active cases in the country with 6,994 beds nationwide but states are continuing to make concerted efforts at expansion.