Some of the five patients of the Covid-19 pandemic who were discharged Monday from the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Yaba, Lagos say they owe their survival to the dogged work of the medical team at the facility who gave their all to save them.
“I was admitted last Sunday,” said one of the patients. “Initially there were challenges. The following day, they brought beds, masks and some equipment.”
said one of the five lucky patients who walked away from the hospital on Monday.
The patient who did not want his identity in print, said it was human for the care givers to be scared for their own lives, explaining that when he was first brought in he was left for a while unattended and he slept off.
He said the government had to do what it will take to encourage them, including offering them a good life insurance cover. Businessday learnt that the Lagos state government has a life assurance cover for all the staff.
Another patient said he was kept on admission at the hospital for exactly two weeks and was happy to recover.
“I came in here on March 15, and after the test returned positive, I was asked to come back the next day. So I was admitted.
“Initially, there were hitches but it later turned out fine. The health workers did fine, all our challenges were attended to. I’m a living witness together with my other colleagues.”
Expressing hope, he said people should not panic, as the virus could be defeated.
“We can beat it. I want to assure others that this is not their resting place. Encourage yourselves, take your medications and in no distant time, you will get out of here.
“However, I want to appeal to the Federal and Lagos State Governments that they should identify and decorate all those workers who have volunteered to work in such difficult circumstances, so as to serve as encouragement to others,” he said. “If they are not here as first responders, many would die,” the patient said.
The patients thanked the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his support and proactiveness and called for increase in the number of workers at the centre.
The five patients who had been receiving treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, were discharged after further tests carried out on them returned negative.
Before now, three other patients, including the Italian index case and two Nigerians had been treated and discharged from the Lagos facility, bringing the total number of recoveries in Nigeria to eight.
Lagos remains the epicentre of the Coronavirus in Nigeria, having 68 of the total 111 cases so far recorded in the country.
