Covid-19: LUTH discharged Man who tested positive over lack of bed space

A man by name Emmanuel Benson, who had close contact with two persons that recently arrived Lagos from the United Kingdom, has been told to go home by medical personnel at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba, after testing positive for Coronavirus.

Benson, who had hoped to be quarantined and treated at LUTH after being tested at the government-owned hospital on March 21, was sent home over lack of bed space to admit him at the facility.

According to report, since the refusal of LUTH to admit Benson, he had returned home and continued his normal life.

“He has been mingling freely with people” a friend to the young man told newsmen.

When contacted by newsmen via his mobile number which was supplied to reporters, Benson indeed confirmed that he tested positive for the virus and was not admitted to LUTH for treatment by medical personnel.

Benson revealed that he went for the test after coming in contact with the two UK returnees at a dinner party in Lagos last week.

Benson: “I am at home on self-isolation now. I had the test at LUTH even though the queue was too long. Some of the medical staff I spoke with later advised me to go home and self-isolate. They said I should get back to them after 14 days or that in seven days they might call to check my progress. I was infected at a dinner party organised for the two men who returned to Nigeria from the UK. I went for the test on March 21.”

Any attempt to contact the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, to notify them of your situation and probably seek help? Benson was asked. He replied, “I have called the NCDC lines several times but they are not picking up the call.

NCDC on Thursday night announced 12 new confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Lagos out of the  total 14 detected in the country.

A close source, an official from the Nigerian Medical Association revealed that the number of confirmed cases declared by NCDC was far below the real figure, adding that there were already hundreds of citizens infected with Coronavirus walking and freely mixing up with others thus increasing the risk of a further spread.