COVID-19: FCT moves to secure 300 -bed quarantine facility

The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello yesterday inspected a five-storey building that can possibly serve as an isolation and treatment facility for COVID-19 patients, should the need arise in the FCT.

The building which is located at the Idu area of the FCT, according to the minister is a new training facility that can be modified to suit the purposes of a treatment and isolation centre as required by the health authorities.

Speaking to journalists during the inspection, he said relevant health authorities will further inspect the facility to determine its suitability.

It would be recalled that the minister, while briefing journalists recently on the preparedness of the FCT to contain the coronavirus, said that while the FCT Administration is making efforts to curtail the spread of the virus, multiple health centres were being prepared in case there is an escalation in the number of patients.

“The most critical thing is that this place has a lot of space. We are talking of five floors. I don’t think the whole of Abuja will have a hospital facility that can accommodate up to five floors. More importantly, there is power here constantly and there is adequate water supply.

“I leave it now for the officials of the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and of course, our public health officials. Jointly, they will decide what needs to be done here and we have a lot of commitment from the private sector organizations who are willing to support the national efforts to fight this disease.

“Once they all agree, I’m sure that within a very short period of time, this place can be made functional,” stated.

Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Muhammed Kawu, said the building was adequate and can be converted into a 300- bed facility.

Also, the Director of Public Health, Dr. Josephine Okechukwu said the structure was ideal and would serve the purpose as a treatment centre.  

“This is a perfect place that we have been looking for and it’s quite good. It’s a new structure with so many available rooms that we can fix up for now as a holding centre or a treatment centre if need be,” she added