There is uneasiness amongst residents in the Akoko areas of Ondo state; especially Ikare Akoko, Oka Akoko and Ipe Akoko; as the people are now apprehensive and are in panic, over the death of a suspected patient of Covid-19 at Government Hospital at Ipe Akoko.
A reliable source who preferred anonymity at the hospital said that the suspected COVID-19 patient was first admitted at State Specialist Hospital (SSH), Ikare before he was transferred to what he described as a less equipped General Hospital, Oka and later moved to General Hospital Ipe.
It was also learnt that all efforts made by family members of the deceased to contact authorities to conduct test for the patient failed as officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Owo allegedly claimed there were no logistics to travel to Ipe General Hospital.
It was gathered that some of the health workers at the hospitals were unable to ascertain the health status of the deceased until he died on Tuesday which is now creating panic among the health workers and residents.
One of the health officials confirmed the situation saying, “our government is not serious about the pandemic. There was a suspected COVID-19 case in General Hospital, Ipe-Akoko who died about two hours after admission.
“Px (patient) came in unconscious with fever of 40 degree celcius, cough with grunting respiration, 52cpm. PX just discovered to be RVS reactive.
“We called NCDC (officials) in Owo (FMC) who promised to come to collect sample but later told us this morning that they can’t come again due to logistics and we should release the corpse to the relatives.
“Imagine that, even the relatives that brought the patient yesterday were on gloves and mask, meaning they even suspected something.
“We couldn’t ascertain travel (record of the patient) as PX was unconscious and live alone. The suspicious thing was that they brought the patient from Ikare, leaving SSHx, Ikare, GH, Iwaro, to come to a remote area here, why?
“But NCDC decided not to do anything based on logistics which we don’t know and advised us to release the corpse.
“Well, the PX was PCV 7%, RVS, chronic cough, and can be anything, but this is a good suspected case of COVID, so why would NCDC just waive it away, meaning they must have been waiving other good cases (of COVID-19 patients) away too, Nigeria is a mess,” the source lamented.
In his reaction, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Wahab Adegbenro, confirmed the incident, but declared that it was not a case of Coronavirus as being rumoured.
He said the government could not disclose the ailment that killed the patient, adding that only the family had right to know his status that led to his death.
Adegbenro said the deceased died of an entirely different health condition as proper diagnosis was carried out on the patient by medical personnel while on admission in the hospital.
He enjoined the people of Ipe Akoko not to be apprehensive as government would not treat any coronavirus case with kids’ gloves.
The Commissioner also hinted that the patient who tested positive for COVID-19 at the FMC Owo was now receiving treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Akure.
