Chairman Medical Advisory Committee, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo disclosed that at the height of COVID-19 first wave, the federal tertiary facility was admitting no fewer than 96 patients with the respiratory challenge.
Adeyemo made the statement during the Circumvent training of health workers organised last week by the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research.
He stated that about 50 to 60 per cent of the hospital’s oxygen are deployed for the management of COVID-19 patients.
“During the first wave, there were periods when we had about 95 or 96 patients consistently for weeks in our hall. Maybe about 20 per cent of patients were admitted to LUTH for moderate to mild cases of COVID-19. About 50 to 60 per cent of oxygen are deployed for the management of COVID-19 patients.
“But in this second wave period, virtually everybody admitted was in need of oxygen. As they say, the experience is the best teacher. The scourge of COVID-19 is better imagined than felt experienced,” he said.
According to the associate professor, the second wave did not come to him as a surprise because of the manner Nigerians flouted the laid down guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
“I didn’t see the second wave as a surprise because we threw caution to the wind in December. People came in from all over the world. In Lagos, for instance, we had a lot of parties.
“Despite government COVID-19 protocol on parties, gathering and social distancing, we flouted them. The result is what we are experiencing now. The number started increasing in December but things appeared a little bit stabilized. I sincerely hope it would not spike again,” he said.
Reminiscing, Adeyemo noted that LUTH was compelled to move its COVID-19 ward to a smaller facility at a point when the number of cases started declining.
“As everybody is aware, this is the second wave. We thought we were off the hook in November or thereabout. Even here at LUTH, there was a period we recorded zero number of the patient to the extent that we had to move to a smaller facility.
“But in these few weeks, we had to move back to the old facility because, by the first or second week of December, the number started rising again,” he said.
