The Edo State Government has commenced training of over 6,000 medical personnel drawn from private, state and federal medical centres in the state on how to manage infectious diseases in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the state.
The training is coming on the heels of the outbreak of coronavirus in the state, as the state government ramps up its preparedness to face a worst-case scenario.
Speaking at the commencement of the training at the Civic Centre, Block D, Edo State Secretariat, Benin City, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, said the state government is committed to ensuring that hospital staff are well prepared for eventualities from the outbreak of COVID-19.
According to him, “We are up-skilling our healthcare workforce to manage the outbreak of coronavirus in the state. We are holding Train-the-trainer (ToT) workshops targeted at updating the skill-level of workers across different medical institutions in the state to be able to effectively manage the outbreak of the coronavirus.
“This is as we are developing a uniform protocol for attending to suspected cases of coronavirus, to ensure that there would be a standard procedure for identifying potential cases.”
A cross-section of the trainees said the development was highly welcome as it would boost the capacity of health workers to respond to the needs of residents in the state in the wake of the pandemic.
Recall that since the outbreak of COVID-19, the state government has taken a number of measures which were later ratified with the signing of the state’s Quarantine Regulations 2020 by the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki. Some of the measures taken include closure of markets, with only sellers of food items, medicines and other vital commodities allowed to operate; ban on gatherings of more than 20 persons; strict seating guidelines in public buses and proper documentation of passengers by transporters; checks on recent travel history of clients by hoteliers, among others.
Residents have also been urged to adhere to the precautionary measures and hygienic practices against the spread of the virus, while a new seating arrangements have been mandated for transporters, which stipulates that cars must carry one passenger in front and two at the back; while buses load one passenger in front and two in each row.
