 Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said that the demand for oxygen by coronavirus patients has increased to 400 cylinders per day. Meanwhile, the state recorded 355 new COVID-19 infections, the highest in the country on Sunday. This brings the total number of confirmed infections in the state to 49,274, while 314 deaths have so far been recorded. Briefing Lagosians on Sunday on the management of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state, Sanwo-Olu said that oxygen was free in all Lagos State-owned COVID-19 treatment centres. He added that the state was under pressure to ensure availability, leading to the commencement of the construction of a second oxygen plant at the Gbagada General Hospital. It is expected to come on-stream within the next seven days. The new plant will boost the in-house capacity and availability of oxygen across all state government-managed treatment centres. The governor further disclosed that plans were afoot to make the state-owned isolation centre in Gbagada a fee-paying facility that Lagos residents who were willing to pay could go to for treatment. The facility, he said, would provide covid-19 treatment at a far cheaper cost than private facilities. “This means that the COVID treatment facility in Yaba will continue to offer free and high-quality treatment to all persons. “Gbagada centre will offer treatment at a moderated and affordable cost to those who wish to take advantage of extra offerings like private treatment rooms and more personalised levels of care,” Sanwo-Olu said. Sanwo-Olu said that the government established a toll-free telemedicine service, EKOTELEMED, for patients who were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms that did not require admission and could, therefore, be managed in the comfort of their homes. The service can be accessed free of charge on 08000EKOMED (08000356633). The governor urged Lagos residents to avail themselves of the facility. |
