No fewer than 812 healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 nationwide.
This is according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC which made the revelation on Sunday. It also said it has begun an online course on Infection Prevention and Control of the virus. It added that though, the online cause is available to the public, it is targeted at healthcare workers.
The Agency saidthe essence of the course was to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases while administering healthcare in Nigeria.
According to the agency, as at 2 June, about 812 healthcare workers have been infected in-country with over 230,000 infected globally. The national strategy in response to COVID-19 has been multidimensional. Compliance with IPC measures remains one of the best interventions to control the ongoing outbreak, until a vaccine or cure is found.
The agency, as reported by The Punch, further said “The NCDC has made efforts to rapidly strengthen the capacity of frontline healthcare workers in infection prevention and control wherever healthcare is provided. Since the first case in Nigeria was confirmed in February, NCDC has supported the training of about 17,436 health workers in IPC and works in collaboration with the Departments of Hospital Services and Food and Drugs of the Federal Ministry of Health.
“This is to ensure that health workers are provided with the required personal protective equipment to reduce the risk of health workers’ infection. The online course is also designed to document vital information to monitor IPC compliance across health facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, both in public, private and faith-based facilities in Nigeria. Infection, prevention and control measures cut across all other components of the COVID-19 response in Nigeria. They are critical for strengthening national health security”, it noted.
- The agency stated that it is totally committed to protecting the health of Nigerians while urging all and sundry to remain aware of the risks of COVID-19 and abide by the preventive measures advised by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Federal Ministry of Health.
