The management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital ( OOUTH) has berated those it said were trying to dent the image of the present administration in Ogun State and the efforts of the hospital to combat the deadly corona virus through unnecessary rumours.
The management of the hospital said this in reaction to the news making rounds that 20 officials in its laboratory have tested positive for Covid-19.
While denying the claim, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Dr. Peter Adefuye, said that a few of its laboratory staff voluntarily did the test and eight of them came out positive.
Dr. Adefuye noted that all the individuals have been asymptomatic and they have been asked to self-isolate in line with the World Health Organisation ( WHO) and Nigeria Center for Disease Control ( NCDC) guidelines.
He said that since the Coronavirus pandemic is at community stage in the country, anyone can contract it anywhere regardless of location, not necessarily an hospital setting.
According to the CMD, it is no news that doctors, nurses or any form of health officials have tested positive across the country and globally respectively, but playing cards with human health in this respect is uncalled for.
Adefuye pointed out that the state government has been committed to the fight against Covid-19 by making Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and all necessary things available to the hospital without leaving any stone unturned.
He said that the fellows crying fouls in order to make unwarranted claims have forgotten that the management cannot afford to close the gate of OOUTH because of Covid-19.
“Soldiers cannot for the sake of war refuse to go to battle. The same is applicable to health workers. This is the reason we are called heroes as life savers.
“After all, health workers understand that they do not wear anything more than PPE to attend to HIV/AIDS patients. So, why should some people in some quarters use this to embarrass the government and management of the hospital?”, he said.
The CMD called on the media practitioners and general public to explore only official means to source for information rather than hear-say that is capable of sensationalising sensitive issues in the name of political gains.