NARD: Almost all doctors at UCH paediatric department have had COVID-19

Adejo Arome, vice-president of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), says a significant percentage of doctors at the pediatric department of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo state, have contracted COVID-19.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, he expressed concern about the rising number of health workers who have contracted the coronavirus.

Arome, in the interview on Friday, added that one of the reasons there has been an increase in infections among health workers is that patients are not being truthful about their symptoms.

“It is so disheartening that the number of health workers being infected with COVID-19 is increasing daily and it seems nothing is being done to reduce this number,” he said.

“Apart from that, almost all the doctors in the University College Hospital (UCH), paediatric department, are infected; DASH, Lafia, almost all the doctors are infected. It is like that every day.

“I believe that every doctor in clinical practice right now should have been exposed to COVID-19.

“Patients don’t come out truthfully to tell us their symptoms. Almost everybody now knows what the symptoms of COVID-19 are.

“They will go to one hospital, the doctors will tell them that this is what is suspected, they will run away and go to another one, praying to get another diagnosis.”

He, however, urged the federal government to roll out policies that would make it unlawful for patients and their relatives to lie about their symptoms.