The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, has said the state is putting in place strategies for the commencement of home-based management of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases.
Abayomi, at a briefing on Friday, said asymptomatic and mild stage of the infection would now be managed at home rather than at the isolation centres.
He added that with the increasing number of positive cases, resulting from the increase in the state’s testing capacity, the possibility of running short of bed spaces in isolation facilities could not be ruled out.
He said, “We are going to define who can be managed at home and who can be managed in an isolation facility. It is a bit of a simple decision. If you are asymptomatic, you qualify to be managed at home simply because most people in that category will naturally get well without any medical intervention. After all, if you are not feeling any symptoms you may not know you have COVID-19, nothing happens to you and you may clear the virus after seven to 10 days.”
“The people we want to pay more attention to are the moderate to severe ones because they are not suitable for home-based care,’’ Abayomi said.
He said the home-based care would be strictly monitored.
He added, “When we manage you at home, we are going to monitor you. With our developed EkoTelemed, we can have a consultation with you in your house without us coming.
“We are going to give you COVID-19 pack where you can measure your temperature, oxygen level, give you certain vitamins and pain-killers so that you can have a comfortable time in isolation at home.”
Meanwhile, in Ogun State, the Head of Public Relations and Information at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Segun Orisajo, said on Friday that the result of a 43-year-old trader who died on Friday last week had shown that the deceased had COVID-19.
In a statement on Friday, Orisajo explained that the victim presented herself at the medical centre on May 29 but that she died same day, while the result of her COVID-19 test came out positive on Friday.
