The Edo State Government on Sunday said the Stella Obasanjo Hospital in Benin, which was repurposed as an Infectious Diseases Centre over the coronavirus outbreak in the state, is ready and would receive confirmed COVID-19 cases from Tuesday.
The state’s Commissioner of Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, disclosed this in Benin while conducting journalists round the Infectious Disease Isolation Unit of the Hospital.
He said the state government has five isolation centres in the three senatorial districts of the state, including the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and the Ogbe Nursing Home in Edo South; Auchi General Hospital in Edo North and the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo Central.
“We have 30 ventilators that are being distributed across the isolation centres in the state. As from Tuesday, we would be moving some of the confirmed cases into this facility at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital. The ventilators here would be used in managing the critical cases of COVID-19,” he added.
He explained that the state government would be opening a 31-bed ultra-modern infectious disease facility at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital next week together with the existing 12-bed unit to serve as the main isolation centres while the other sections of the hospital would be used as holding facilities.
“When patients are brought in, they would be held at the main hospital building, while we send their samples for testing. If they are confirmed positive, they would be moved to the infectious disease unit for close monitoring and expert treatment.
He said, “one unique thing about the Stella Obasanjo Hospital is that it has an incinerator, which would be used to dispose the materials from the infectious disease treatments.”
