Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General for Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has revealed that 90 percent of persons who test positive for COVID-19 tend to recover without any intervention.
He made this known at the daily Press briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Reacting to reports of Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde’s one-week recovery after initially testing positive to the virus, NCDC DG disclosed majority of COVID-19 patients recovered without any treatment ‘per se’.
The NCDC Boss said;
“We should remember that 90 per cent of these patients recover without any intervention. So, if you take something and say you recovered and that something is why you recovered, it doesn’t quite add up. So, hopefully, there will be some treatment emerging over the next few years but remember that people recover from many viruses; that’s the way it happens,”
“There are very few viruses with a cure. Even the ones that have a bad outcome like lassa fever – 20 per cent of patients die from it – it still means that 80 per cent of patients will recover without any treatment per se. What happens is that the body is supported to recover on its own. So, you go to a hospital and for COVID-19, you’re given oxygen. Oxygen is not really a treatment; it’s to keep you alive for long enough for you to recover yourself.”
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Meanwhile, Chikwe Ihekweazu also admonished the nation’s leaders to protect identities of COVID-19 patients in their states.
“We’re really appealing to our leaders across the country. Please, let the experts do the reporting. Nobody should reveal the identity of a patient, even if it’s the first patient in your state. Please, do not reveal the identity of a patient; the circumstances whether he’s a doctor not. We don’t need all of that. This is a virus. They haven’t committed an offence; they haven’t done anything wrong. We have to show empathy towards all our patients; that’s what we signed up to as healthcare workers,” he said.
He further said political leaders who disclosed details of COVID-19 patients lacked the understanding of ethics and norms that govern the medical practice and public health