The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kogi chapter, has donated over 500 improvised face masks to hospitals in the state as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
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Dr Kabiru Zubair, the NMA Chairman in Kogi, handed over the face masks to the Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of both Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja (FMCL), and Kogi State Specialist Hospital (KSSH), on Tuesday in Lokoja.
Zubair said that the gesture was a way of promoting the use of face masks by the general public in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) repots President Muhammadu Buhari’s nation broadcast on Monday have given directives to use of face masks as part of measures to curb spread of COVID-19.
”We believe that at this time that we are having community transmission of coronavirus, as an association, we want to promote the use of face masks by the general public.
”This is just a token; we know it cannot be enough for all the staff in the hospitals.
”This, we know with other measures like social distancing, regular hand washing with soap and use of sanitisers, will go a long way to reducing the rate of community transmission of COVID-19 in public places.
”We thank God that so far so good, Kogi has not recorded any confirmed case of COVID-19; we pray it remains so.
”However, we are urging the government to lower the threshold for testing of suspected COVID-19 patients in the state,” he said.
He added that the gesture would be extended to Regional Hospital Okene, General Hospital, Kabba, and Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba.
He commended the CMDs for the good work they were doing in spite of the limited resources, and measures they had put in place to ensure safety of their members and other health workers with respect to COVID-19 pandemic.
In their separate responses, the CMD FMC Lokoja, Dr Olatunde Alabi, and CMD of KSSH, Prof. Isa Yahaya, commended the NMA for the gesture, saying it would go a long way in assisting the staff and management of the hospitals.
Represented by Dr Stephen Shuaibu, the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of KSSH, Yahaya, thanked the NMA for taking the bold step in protecting the people from getting infected.
”The gesture is encouraging and we are really happy about,” he said.