The Enugu State House of Assembly Committee on Health has advocated community testing for COVID-19 infection of indigenes and residents of the state.
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The Health Committee Chairman, Mr Sam Ngene made the call on Friday in Enugu when the committee visited ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane as part of its oversight function.
Ngene stressed that the community testing for the pandemic had become important owing to high level of transmission witnessed in other states of the federation.
According to him, the state government will do everything possible to ensure that the spread of coronavirus does not escalate further thereby putting pressure on the health sector of the state.
The lawmaker, representing Enugu South Urban Constituency, advised the management of the health institution to handle COVID-19 infection in line with international best practices.
Ngene also urged the Chief Medical Director of ESUTH to interface with aggrieved members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) currently on strike to resolve their grievances.
He however, warned that state government would not fold its hand and watch the ARD sabotage its efforts, especially at this period of coronavirus.
Responding, the Chief Medical Director of the teaching hospital, Prof. Hyacinth Onah, said that the facility was part of isolation and treatment centre for cases of coronavirus in the state.
Onah said it had employed the services of 34 interim doctors to assist the hospital, since resident doctors were on strike adding that some of them had returned to work after pulling out of the strike.
On ventilators, the CMD disclosed that the hospital had four functional ventilators, which had been deployed for the treatment of coronavirus patients.
The lawmakers were conducted round the facilities, including the treatment and isolation centre located inside the hospital.