Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has said many of her colleagues have Coronavirus and called on the Actors Guild of Nigeria to asked all members to undergo test for the virus.
Jalade-Ekeinde, who is receiving treatment after testing positive for Coronavirus said she had struggled with the thoughts of opening up and asking all Nollywood stars to go for the test.
Her statement was posted on the Instagram page of Actors Guild of Nigeria on Sunday.
She thanked her colleagues for their prayers, calls, comments and well wishes, saying she was doing well now and trusting God for permanent healing.
“Dear Friends, I struggled with going public with this, but I had no peace and I believe this is what God wants me to do , so I hope his will be done.
“People who know me are all shocked as I’m one of the most careful who kept really safe. What then happened? Well, I got this on a set. A movie set.
“So please, I am speaking to you all out of love, please we need to be extra careful now. The doctor treating me says many of us are now Infected and receiving treatment. Unfortunately, many don’t test and only think they have Malaria and others who test might not come out publicly.
“I plead with us all to test. It’s really not as scary as we think. I’ve only now found out MAJORITY already have had or have covid. Testing helps you get properly treated and helps others around you,” she said.
Jalade-Ekeinde added: “Dear colleagues, as you know as actors, we are most vulnerable as we can’t wear masks while working. Dear Emeka and Agn excos, thanks for this platform , please we have a lot of work to do. We must protect actors.
“The Blood test doesn’t really count. It must be the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test done at a government approved Lab. It’s done with samples from nose, saliva and mouth. How do we get it to be MANDATORY for all sets to test EVERYONE even extras? And then camp All?
“I am doing a second test now to ascertain my current status. If anyone has any questions or help, please don’t hesitate to send me a message. God bless us all and Thanks Again.”
We are living in biblical times. These are the “last days” foretold in the scriptures. Paul warns Timothy that: “in the last days perilous times will come.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
However, what he calls perilous is remarkably different from what we normally regard as perilous.
Paul’s perilous times do not include the current rash of terrorists and suicide bombers. He does not refer to the rampant incidence of armed robbers and kidnappers. He is not concerned about global warming and natural disasters; such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis. He does not even pay attention to wars and civil unrest.
Instead, Paul concentrates on the sins of the human heart. For him, perilous times will come because men will be lovers of pleasure, among other evils.
Pleasure-seekers
If you would like to wave this off as some inconsequential mumbo jumbo, think again. Take another look at the current coronavirus pandemic and you will discover that it is afflicting lovers of pleasure especially by the millions and killing them by the hundreds of thousands.
For COVID-19 to be contained, there has to be a lockdown for a season, and there has to be social distancing, at least until an effective vaccine is developed. People also need to wear masks in public.
But lovers of pleasure cannot abide by these guidelines. They cannot stay at home. They cannot do social distancing. Neither will they wear masks. They insist on going to the pubs, to the beaches, and parties. As a result, they are infected predominantly by the coronavirus and are dying like flies.
God’s enemies
You may well ask: “What is wrong with loving pleasure?”
The truth is that, like money, the love of pleasure is the root of all kinds of evil. You cannot love two masters: if you love pleasure, you cannot love God. (2 Timothy 3:4).
The man who loves God must hate sin. However, sin is pleasurable. Therefore, what is pleasurable is not necessarily of God. James asks: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” (James 4:1).
Wicked people enjoy their wickedness. But a child of God has been redeemed from the evil pleasures of this world. We must no longer enjoy sin: “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.” (Titus 3:3-4).
David says: “In (God’s) presence is fullness of joy; at (His) right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11). However, the pleasures of the Lord are completely different from those enjoyed by men. (Isaiah 55:8-9).
What is pleasurable to the flesh has no value whatsoever to the spirit. Therefore, those who want to be close to God must mortify the deeds of the flesh because God is Spirit.
God lovers are debtors: “not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if (we) live according to the flesh (we) will die; but if by the Spirit (we) put to death the deeds of the body, (we) will live.” (Romans 8:12-13).
Heavenly treasure
As a young believer, I had one obsession: to end up in heaven. It was my singular prayer point. But one day, I was playing a videotape of a concert by the gospel singer, Ron Kenoly. Looking at the film, a friend of mine said excitedly: “This is what we are going to be doing when we get to heaven.”
I suddenly discovered that, despite my preoccupation with heaven, I found the whole idea to be entirely disagreeable. I said in my heart: “How boring that would be?” and the Lord heard me. I could not find anything exciting about spending a week singing praise songs non-stop, how much more spending eternity doing so.
So, the Holy Spirit engaged me in my obsession with heaven. “Femi,” he asked. “Why do you want to go to heaven?” I could not answer because the only reason why I wanted to go to heaven was to avoid the afflictions that I was told awaited those who go to hell.
Then He dropped the bombshell. “Femi,” He said, “heaven is not for you. There is nothing in heaven that you like. There is no food in heaven. There is no sex there. None of the material possessions you crave are in heaven. Why would you want to spend eternity in such a boring place?”
I learnt my lesson. Heaven is not for carnal lovers of the pleasures of the flesh. Heaven is for the spiritually-minded who love God.
Stark choice
Jesus says those given to pleasure cannot receive the word of God: “All too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so, they never grow into maturity.” (Luke 8:14). Accordingly, Solomon says: “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” (Proverbs 21:17).
Without realizing it, we are often confronted with a stark choice: the love of God or the love of pleasure. The love of God entails affliction in the world, while the love of pleasure prescribes sin as a way of escape. Therefore, Elihu cautions: “Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction.” (Job 36:21).
The scriptures tell us that: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26).
“Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, who dwell securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children’; but these two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children, and widowhood.” (Isaiah 47:8-9).
Judgment of God
That is the verdict of the current pandemic. The coronavirus is God’s “great army.” (Joel 2:25). He has sent it to the scornful who despise His ways.
Right now, in the middle of this rampaging coronavirus, 250,000 motorbike riders are having a raucous rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, U.S.A. They are not wearing masks, neither are they observing any social distancing. They are having a good time, dicing with sickness and death.
A reporter asked one of them: “Why are you doing this? Why are you taking this risk?” The man replied: “We just want to have some fun.” He asked another biker: “Are you not afraid of contracting the coronavirus?” “Hell No!” the man replied. “You’re going to get it sooner or later anyway.”
Paul says: “she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” (1 Timothy 5:6). That is why COVID-19 is killing lovers of pleasure by the lorry-load, while lovers of God can take wise precautions. It is the judgment of God.
Isaiah tells God: “When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9).
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday night announced 325 new cases of COVID-19 in the country.
This brings the total number of infections in the country to 48, 770.
Nigeria has continued to report less than 500 daily coronavirus infections in the past three weeks, a sign that the country’s epidiemological curve is heading downwards.
One death was recorded from the virus in the past 24 hours pushing the total number of confirmed deaths from the virus to 974.
According to the NCDC, out of a total of 48, 770 infected persons so far, 36, 290 have recovered and have been discharged after treatment in the country’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The new cases, according to the NCDC were found in following 20 states:
Lagos-87
FCT-49
Gombe-28
Ebonyi-20
Plateau-19
Kwara-18
Enugu-17
Imo-12
Rivers-12
Kaduna-11
Ogun-10
Edo-9
Oyo-9
Ondo-8
Osun-8
Ekiti-4
Borno-1
Kano-1
Bauchi-1
Nasarawa-1
Nigeria is Africa’s third most impacted nation behind only South Africa and Egypt.
The federal and state governments say they are working to increase testing as experts stress that cases definitely far exceed the current tally.
A sample of chicken wings imported to China from Brazil has tested positive for the coronavirus, Chinese authorities said Thursday.
COVID-19 was detected on a surface sample taken from a batch of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Tuesday.
The Office of the Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters immediately traced and tested people who may have come into contact with the contaminated food. All of the results have come back negative, a statement from the headquarters said.
Additionally, all related products in stock have been removed and tested negative. Products from the same brand have been traced and the relevant agencies have been notified of the possible contamination.
The packaging and storage areas of the COVID-positive chicken wings have been disinfected and the contaminated food has been discarded.
Meanwhile, the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no evidence that COVID-19 is spread through food and “there is likely very low risk of spread from food products or packaging,” but advises people to wash their hands before preparing and eating food.
The World Health Organization has also said that it is unlikely that people can contract the coronavirus from food or food packaging.
…it’s the fault of the govt., we have not done well, says Bayelsa’s former Commissioner for Health
…HMB should just shut down the facility, says a concerned doctor
Leaky roofs, damaged ceilings, rusty clinic beds, mushroom theatre, and more dilapidation – is the deplorable state of the Odi General Hospital, where patients, who otherwise should live, would die.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the hospital, located in the Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area of Bayelsa State has been abandoned to rot by the State Government over the years.
The implication of the abandonment is not just that quality healthcare delivery is now far-flung from the people of a whole local government area; people living in the area now have to seek alternatives for healthcare services.
Worse is that, given the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) health crisis ravaging the world today, the people of the area have no first point of call when there is an emergency or when a mere need arises, as findings reveal the hospital is the only general hospital available in the local government area.
By implication also, locals now have to travel hundreds of kilometres to get the littlest of healthcare service. But, there is even worse!
This is Odi General Hospital in Bayelsa State
When TNG reporter visited the Odi General Hospital, the facility was nothing to write home about. The hospital that ideally receives referrals from all the healthcare centres in the local government, making it a very strategic hospital for the people of the area, is nothing, but a shadow.
“In fact, some poultry farms are better than the hospital. At a time we were even trying to see whether the HMB would just shut down the facility,” a staff who spoke under the condition of anonymity told TNG.
When TNG visited the hospital, there was, however, an ambulance on ground. TNG met on a phone call, a medical officer. There was also a uniformed nurse on ground, and two ladies dressed in mufti. There was no single patient on sight in the hospital.
Signpost of the Odi General Hospital
At the first instance, standing in front of the entrance to the hospital, the impression was that there will be nobody in this place. The place looked more like a graveyard, deserted. But, on approach, the ambulance and the officer on a phone call were on sight. Also on sight were dilapidated structures, which were later clarified to be doctors and nurses quarters.
“Please do and discharge me, I am not comfortable here,” a patient told an officer at the hospital who asked not to be named.
The female ward of Odi General Hospital in Bayelsa State
TNG reports this is the same hospital the former Governor of the State, Seriake Dickson had in 2015 while flagging off the 58th edition of the famous Odi Ogori Ba Uge festival of Odi boasted to fix. He promised his administration would completely renovate the hospital to improve healthcare delivery in the area.
However, till date, with Douye Diri as the present Governor of the State, the hospital remains in its sorry state, and continued deterioration, and may remain so, long after Governor Diri has left office.
An officer, who granted an interview, but asked not to be named, narrated from genesis to revelation, how the sorry state of the Odi General Hospital came about.
This is the male ward of Odi General Hospital in Bayelsa State
“This place is the Odi General Hospital,” the officer opened up to TNG after much persuasion. After having to calm down, he said, “Most of the structures are dilapidated. Even our office, where we consult, is dilapidated”.
He went further to say, “this hospital is actually the only general hospital in this local government, that is, this Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area. Ideally, the hospital is supposed to receive referrals from all the health centres in the local government. If the case cannot be managed here, then, we can now refer to the teaching hospital at Okolobiri or FMC in Yenagoa.
“But, because of the dilapidated state of the hospital, the turn out of patients is not encouraging. There is an incident that happened here. A patient was brought from Yenagoa to this place for surgery. Getting to this place, the child looked at the hospital and said he cannot enter this place, that “daddy, are you taking me to this place? I can’t enter this place”. They took the child back, to tell you how bad it is”.
The officer told TNG that the Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area has a large population of people and that if the Odi General Hospital were fully functional, there was a considerable number of qualified personnel to cater for the health needs of the people.
“Then, also, except the accommodation and the state of the hospital, there is really nothing much, because the hospital has almost every hands to function well and compete with any hospital in the State. We have four medical officers, plus another Corper doctor, making five doctors in this place. There are six nurses here; then, the other health workers, then, the pharmacists. The laboratory has two scientists and two Corper scientists, making four laboratory scientists in this hospital.
“So, the place is well equipped in terms of manpower, just that the only challenge is the structure. People are discouraged by what they see. Most times, people wonder at this kind of place, if people are still here. They would say, “If I come here to treat malaria, I will still be attacked by mosquitoes”.
“But because the people have seen that the place is dilapidated, they don’t believe that there are qualified hands here. Because when they pass through the gate, they see the place as an abandoned place. So, they don’t even bother to come here to seek care.
“It is only a few of them, who have come here, and they met doctors and nurses, who attended to them very well, that still have the confidence to continue to come here. Or, once in a while they have financial challenges, they can now tell the person, “why not go to the general hospital, there are doctors there” before the person will now come. And when they come, they are amazed that there are actually health workers on the ground, who are even willing to work any time, any day.
“Some people will even confess to you that, in town, the news is different, that if you come here, there is nobody to attend to you. So, it is justified, because if the place, for example now, there are good structures, like the main hospital now, is renovated, painted, maybe there are walk paths in the hospital, there is a good gate there, by the time you are passing the place, you will know that government presence is here. Let it be as if you come to the hospital and there is nobody to attend to you.
“Maybe when we leave now you will now see what I mean by dilapidated. In one of our wards, the main ward, the ceilings have opened up, that even if you were on admission there, you will be afraid that in the next minute, the ceilings might cave in. So, the reason why sick people rarely patronize this hospital is justified,” the medical officer said.
The ceilings of Odi General Hospital are not better than this
He further told TNG that “the thing is the hospital has been in this condition for long. It is not something that just happened recently. Like these structures, these ones have been dilapidated for some years, from 2012 when they had that flood till now, and even before then, the place was already getting bad. So, over time, the people were already having the conception about this place, that this place is not functioning.
“So, some persons, when they are sick, especially the ones that have relatives outside, who can afford treatment outside, their first point of call is usually outside this place. But if the place is functioning the way it should, the community has a good population, and there are some communities linked to the community, I think they would be bringing in patients. It is only once in a while that we have referrals from health centres. Then, inside the town, there are some medicine dispensing stores where the people rather go to manage their health, but when they see no improvement, that is when they come to the hospital. Aside that one, nothing much”.
The doors leading to sections of the Odi General Hospital are not better than this one.
Some residents of the community, who spoke with TNG, including the king, the Amanyanabo of Odi, HRH King Shine Apre, also told the sorry tales of the Odi General Hospital and its impact on the lives of the people.
According to the Amanyanabo of Odi, “The Odi General Hospital has been abandoned to rot. Our people have no alternative here than to seek healthcare elsewhere and the thing is Odi is far from the main town. We have had a case in which we lost a life before they could take the person to a hospital in Yenagoa. If the Odi hospital is functional as it should be, and that person was taken there first, I am sure the person would not have died”.
The narrative of Richman Dinipre, a member of the community was not different. He said, “The hospital is very bad. The residents and staff quarters, and even the main hospital building are dilapidated. Everything is bad there. All the whole houses, everything is bad. We are suffering because of it. There is nowhere for our people to seek medical care. Because the place is bad, our people go outside to receive treatment ordinarily they could have received at the hospital. People are scared to receive treatment at the hospital, but for someone like me, we still go there because it is our community”.
Also, Nelson Odoni, a pastor in the community lamented the state of the hospital, saying “The State of Odi General Hospital is very poor. No life there. No equipment in that place. I do visit the place to pray for people. People are complaining. The personnel there are trying their best, but you know they need equipment to do the job. People who do go there do not complain of the workers but always complain about the dilapidated structures. Once you go there once, you won’t want to go there the next time because of the nature of structures at the hospital”.
A tour of the facility shows the sorry state of the Odi General Hospital as seen in the video below [PRESS PLAY]:
It’s the fault of the government, we have not done well, says Bayelsa’s former Commissioner for Health
Meanwhile, Bayelsa’s former Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Nicholas Etebu, who is the Acting Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Bayelsa Medical University (BMU), has faulted the State Government over the situation of the Odi General Hospital.
While speaking to TNG on some factors that contributed to the disintegration of most of the structures of the hospital, the former Commissioner for Health said, the State Government failed to release funds needed to change the fortune of the hospital. He revealed to TNG that N50 million had been budgeted over the years for the renovation of the hospital.
“You know Odi is in the Niger Delta. When the road was built, the Odi-Trofani road, they sand-filled the road, and it became far and above sea level. So, the hospital now became very far below the level of the road. The road caused some embankment and dyking. When it floods, the hospital floods too. That has contributed to the disintegration of most of the structures.
“I was Commissioner for Health. The State Government had a budget to fix it but unfortunately, the immediate past Governor did not release funds. He could not do much for the paucity of funds. So, that is where it is. We are hoping that the new government will release those funds because it has been in the budget for many years. So, that is the situation. It is not anybody’s fault. It is the fault of the government. The government has not risen up to the occasion,” he told TNG.
The former Commissioner, now acting VC of BMU went further to say that, “Out of the N50 million budgeted, if the government is releasing N10 million a year, it would have gone a long way but no releases were made. So, nothing happened. But I believe the present government, as it is, something positive would be done.
“Ordinarily, it is not supposed to be like that. Budgets do not need to run on the wings and caprices of the Governor. Budgets are estimates that are done by the various ministries and if the budget is to be implemented, it should be so implemented in stages, in phases as the case may be. But in Nigeria these days, it does not happen that way.
“For me as a Bayelsan, we have not done very well. We have done very badly. We have done badly in terms of our developmental indexes. We have the derivation; our allocation is more compared to other States created when Bayelsa was created. They have done well far better than Bayelsa.
“If you go to places like Ebonyi that are created at the same time as Bayelsa, if you see development there, you will be marvelled. Go to Kogi, see development there, you will be marvelled. Yet these States get almost, maybe one-quarter of what we get as monthly allocation.
“If you juxtaposed that with what is happening, it means we have a problem. The problem is that of leadership. When we have good leadership, we will get good development. Bayelsa has not lived up to the money accrued the State”.
Giving an insight into how long the Odi General Hospital has been left to rot, Etebu said, “If I cast my mind back, if I follow the calendar of the government in terms of who has been in government and all that, it has been like that after the destruction of Odi. After the destruction, the hospital, nothing has been done there. So, if you count from then till now, you can now have an estimate as of how long the hospital has been in that state. It has been long.
“I have been in government, I have ran institutions, what I noticed, particularly at the State level, is that there is no maintenance culture. You do not just have a building and you think the building will just remain the same forever. So, there is supposed to be a provision for maintenance budget. No maintenance funds in most of our budgets.
“Nobody talks about maintenance and that goes across board. Come to even the cities, you will see the roads are dilapidated and potholes-ridden. There is the ministry of works but nothing is being done. It is as if nobody is seeing. There is a local government, same thing, the local government does nothing. From the state government down to the local government, there is a disaster in Nigeria”.
HMB should just shut down the facility, says a concerned doctor
Visibly troubled by the state of the Odi General Hospital, the staff who spoke under the condition of anonymity told TNG it would have been better if the Hospital Management Board (HMB) shut down the hospital totally.
“The truth of the matter is that we are tired of the Odi General Hospital. The State Government knows the state of the hospital. The Hospital Management Board (HMB) that posted us there knows the state of the hospital. What we have on ground at the hospital is nothing to write home about. In fact, some poultry farms are better than the hospital.
“The impact of the bad hospital on the lives of the people is something you cannot underestimate. It is very obvious that for the fact that a general hospital is in such a very bad shape and no one seems to be bothered is alarming. The community people cannot enjoy good health services. To worsen the situation, most of them try helping themselves by registering for their BHIS [Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme] at other facilities like the ones in Okolobiri and Sagbama, thereby making the patient turn out to be very very low.
“No matter what you do in that place, some persons come around they look at it and they say, I cannot sleep in this kind of place. No matter how you try to encourage them to say they can receive good treatment despite the nature of the place, they refuse to stay. So, the thing is a lose-lose situation for the community and even the workers that are there.
“At a time we were even trying to see whether HMB can shut down the facility. When they shut down the facility, the government can then do the needful, and then they can now start talking about employing people for the facility afresh. The present condition of the hospital is so appalling. It is so devastating. It is not something anybody can wish for his enemy,” the staff said.
The staff further stated, “I do not know how it got this bad but it is just so bad that the community is really suffering from it because they cannot get quality medical services because the facility on the ground cannot provide that for them. It is not possible. So, the impact is enormous. It is not something they can imagine. You can imagine that antenatal mothers cannot access that place. They end up going to other places to deliver. On their way, some have issues. Some even go where they won’t get help on time compared to if they could access Odi General Hospital.
“Imagine indigenes of the community trying to access the place but they can’t be safe in the facility. They end up patronizing traditional birth attendants, patronizing local health attendants for things that medical officials were posted there to do. The picture is very horrible. It is not something anybody knows when it is going to end. How can a patient stay in a ward and be afraid that a cat or a snake can emerge from somewhere to attack you? There have been occasions when snakes were killed in our wards”.
The battle to revive Odi General Hospital
However, the anonymous staff also spoke with TNG on the way forward for the hospital. He urged the State Government to do the needful.
“The government knows what to do. They should do the needful. Since 2012, apart from then, until now, the place has been this way. The community and the people have lost hope and confidence in the place. Had it been the number of civil servants both active and retired, had it been they all register to use that general hospital, the only hospital in the local government, because of the capitation of BHIS, whether they come or they do not come, the hospital would have been entitled to that capitation.
“We could have been using such resources to be doing little stuff on our own. But, the civil servants preferred Okolobiri and Sagbama because of the state of the hospital, making the recovery level of the hospital even more difficult, because every hospital now is living on BHIS, whether patients come or not. No general hospital is receiving less than N600,000.00 from BHIS. Some are even N900,000.00 and over a million naira. But, Odi is less than N200,000.00. By the time you buy BHIS drugs of N150,000.00, what can you do?
“When I spoke with the king at a time, I told him it is going to be very difficult for the hospital to bounce back. First of all, they have to build new structures and restructure the place. After then, they would have to put town crying and involve all indigenes of Odi, both serving and retired under BHIS, to go back to BHIS and tell them to reschedule them back to their general hospital from wherever they have been partaking in the BHIS.
“That is the only way that place can become lively again. If not, no matter what you do there, people would say the structure is not good so they will have a good reason not to come to the hospital. Second, when you are through with the structure, you will now have to battle with the mind to convince them that the place is better off now and that there are good doctors on the ground.
“Then, we now go to BHIS to seek to transfer Odi people back to their own general hospital. That is what will give that place a boost. Had it been it has been the normal practice that any place that you are working as a medical doctor, you have skills, you will attract patients and people to attend your hospital because they love what you are doing, it is no longer like that. There is no money in town. Everybody is like if you go through BHIS, BHIS will pay your bills so long you are registered under the BHIS. So, everybody is thinking towards that direction. Any hospital that does not have BHIS file, it is very difficult. More so that we are in a dilapidated structure,” he said.
A dilapidated building that is supposed to be the doctors quarters of the Odi General Hospital.
Also, the officer who asked not to be named pointed out to TNG the big challenge of the hospital and urged the government to give the hospital a facelift.
“But one very big challenge we have here is accommodation for the staff. Like, over there, if you look there, you will see two building without roofs. That place is supposed to be the doctors’ quarter and the nurses’ quarter. For now, it means the doctors and the nurses do not have a place in the hospital. For now, the nurses are trying to manage with the other health workers, like the health assistants by managing this other quarter.
Another dilapidated building that is meant to be the nurses quarters of the Odi General Hospital
“On our own part here, we have tried our best, and still trying, to make sure that this place functions. Like in the early part of this month, we did an outreach. The essence of the outreach was like let us have a kind of rapport with the people, where we can discuss with them, and tell them, we have doctors here, we have nurses, we have everything, why are you people not coming. After the outreach, there was a little turn-up, but it is not like how a hospital should be. The local government and even this community are big. There is no way you will say people are not sick, just that they don’t have confidence here, rather their confidence is in somewhere else. Either they prefer the medicine dispensing shops or they move to Yenagoa.
“What the government can do for us is just to give the place a facelift. Once this place gets a facelift, it will begin functioning fully. Previously, before the place got to this extent, the place was actually booming. The hospital was functioning to its full capacity, and then, the place started coming down, until this stage now. Like today now, today is our antenatal. But, how many patients have I seen? Not up to ten in a community as big as this. It means something is wrong.
“The only thing government should do is give the hospital a facelift, and the rest can be sorted out. Once the people see that the place is looking beautiful, appealing to the eyes, they will come, because most persons, for example now, if you are being treated of malaria, and the whole ceiling is open, and even the person that is taking care of the patient is even afraid that the ceiling may fall on them, when you admit the patient, the patient will be like, please do and discharge me, I am not comfortable here.
“The government should just do little renovation and provide accommodation. Once the accommodation is there, people will stay. Everybody will be on the ground. That is the challenge of this place,” the medical officer narrated.
Meanwhile, Pastor Odoni said prayers are that God will visit those in the government so that they can come to change the fortune of the hospital.
“We are praying for God to visit those in the government. God should touch their hearts for them to remember to put the hospital in order because it is the only hospital available here, and could be the best if only the government can put it in order. The workers at the hospital are very active. The problem there is the structures and the equipment the personnel need to work with,” he said.
On his part, the Amanyanabo of Odi, HRH King Shine Apre, while addressing the situation of the hospital with TNG, appealed to the State Government to come to the rescue of the hospital.
“I am making my appeal to the government to come to rescue the hospital. The government needs to come and see the present state of the Odi General Hospital. The government should come. The hospital needs general renovation. The hospital is bad. No good thing in that hospital is acceptable to human living,” he said.
The two positive coronavirus cases reported in the Atletico Madrid camp have both been returned by players, Goal reports.
News broke on Sunday that two members of the party set to travel to the Champions League quarter-finals in Portugal had tested positive for the virus, but there was no further indication whether those effected were members of the playing or backroom staff.
According to reports, two members of Diego Simeone’s squad, however, are responsible for the two positive tests and, as such, will not travel to Portugal or take part in the remainder of the competition.
The players are in a stable condition and are observing isolation protocols in their own homes.
In response to the two positive tests, a fresh round of testing has been activated on Atleti’s first team and members of staff who have travelled, while there are also checks being made on those who have come into close contact with the players.
Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has tested negative for Coronavirus.
This is contained in a press statement released by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi on Sunday.
Akinyemi revealed that the former President took the test on Friday, August 7, at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Pent House residence, Okemosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“The samples of the test, conducted by one Dr Olukunle Oluwasemowo of the Molecular Genetics Laboratory 54gene, Lagos, Nigeria, was returned negative on Saturday.
“The laboratory is one of the accredited laboratories approved by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to conduct the crucial Covid-19 test on both asymptomatic and symptomatic Nigerians,” the statement added
There was a fire outbreak on Sunday morning at a Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) isolation centre in India that left 10 COVID-19 patients dead.
Ten other COVID-19 patients were injured in the tragedy that happened in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijaywada hotel that was converted into a COVID-19 care centre.
The cause of fire was yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report, but it was said the fire outbreak might have been as a result of a short circuit.
The surviving COVID-19 patients have been shifted to another hospital, Zee News reported.
“The hotel was taken on lease and run by Ramesh Hospitals, a private hospital where COVID-19 patients were being treated. 40 patients & 10 medical staff were at the hotel at the time of the incident,” Andhra Pradesh Home Minister said.
Andhra Pradesh government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh each to every deceased family.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday condoled families, who lost members in the fire.
“Struck with grief after hearing tragic news about COVID-19 care centre in Vijayawada where an accidental fire caused loss of lives. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery for the injured,” the President tweeted.
Struck with grief after hearing tragic news about COVID-19 care centre in Vijayawada where an accidental fire caused loss of lives. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery for the injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Minister Amit Shah have also expressed grief over the incident.
Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support.
Deeply anguished by the news of tragic fire accident at a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Centre assures all possible support to the state govt. My condolences are with the affected families in this time of grief. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured.
— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) August 9, 2020
Russian Deputy Health Minister, Oleg Grinev, says a state laboratory
vaccine for the novel coronavirus is undergoing final testing phase, expected to be registered next week.
According to him, the vaccine is currently in its final testing phase, which is extremely important.
“We need to understand that the vaccine will be safe,” he said in comments carried by the Russian news agency — Interfax.
Another senior health official had said in July that the vaccine was expected to be mass produced in September.
Russia recorded the world’s fourth largest coronavirus caseload, with more than 875,000 cases.
The vaccine was developed by the Russian state’s Gamaleya Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology,
which was announced two months ago that the vaccine had produced immunity in all test subjects without negative side effects.
The vaccine was initially tested on volunteers from the institute and then soldiers from the Russian military.
“There were no side effects or abnormalities detected among the volunteer soldiers”, Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
“The research results clearly showed that all volunteers had a clear immune response resulting from the vaccination,’’ the Defence Ministry said.
