More deaths are being recorded in patients with other ailments because medical institutions in the country are refusing to handle cases because of fear of contracting coronavirus, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the pandemic has observed.He said the Federal Ministry of Health has, therefore, reached out to medical directors and directed them to continue to offer medical attention to prevent avoidable deaths.
“This situation is made worse by the fact that federal tertiary institutions have been mentioned among those rejecting patients for fear of COVID. This not acceptable. We are saddened by this development.
“The Minister of Health has reached at to all medical directors, asking them to continue providing regular medical services so that we do not end up with avoidable deaths. Truth be told, we are having more deaths from non-attendance to other diseases than even COVID
“The reason for the greater emphasis on COVID-19 is because it is a pandemic and if not curtailed, has a capacity of wiping out large segments of our population.
