The Lagos State Government has confirmed the first COVID-19 death at the State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH Saturday morning even as four persons involved in the management of the patient have been placed on isolation.
Confirming the development on behalf of the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, in a telephone chat with Vanguard, the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Prof Adetokunbo Fabunwo said the body of the patient has been evacuated to Yaba isolation centre.
According to Fabunwo four persons in the hospital who managed the patients have been identified and placed on isolation.
His words: The Commissioner has given me permission to speak on his behalf. The patient who was admitted Wednesday presented with complications of childbirth, severe infection, pneumonia and diabetes miletus.
His words: “The patient came here on Wednesday, She had a delivery somewhere outside LASUTH, but she had complications of severe infection. She had pneumonia and diabetes mellitus.
So our very intelligent doctors found that apart from all those things that were wrong with her suspected coronavirus and universal precautions were taken by all the staff that was handling the case.
“Also, we got the people from NCDC to come and take the sample while we were treating her but eventually she died this morning.
He said the place where she was being managed would be fumigated and shut down for a while
All the people who came in contact with her who are not sure whether they took enough precaution have started the isolation. We have four of them in isolation now,” Fabunwo stated.
Asked if LASUTH was involved in the treatment of coronavirus, Fabunwo said: “We do not treat cases of COVID 19; no facility is permitted to treat apart from the ones the government has designated to treat. We only refer suspected cases. We are advocating that every case that comes in this era, all our doctors should suspect them. That is going to heighten the level of precaution they will take so that they will not expose themselves to any danger. Some don’t even have symptoms.“
