Anambra Government has introduced COVID-19 chain of survival strategies for early intervention in the handling of the virus so as to ensure low death rate.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Vincent Okpala, said this during the conclusion of a 2-day Refresher Training Course for private healthcare providers at Ministry’s Conference Hall, Awka.
Dr Okpala attributed the number of deaths recorded so far in the state to late presentation of cases by patients and diagnoses by health personnel, noting the need for early intervention strategy.
He expressed concerns over the spike in the number of cases since the emergence of the second wave, compared to the first.
According to him, Anambra recorded one of the least number of positive cases during the first wave but as it stands now we are recording more positive cases.
The commissioner noted that more than 10,000 tests were conducted between Dec. 7, 2020 and January 31, with 1,053 positive cases and 19 deaths.
The training was on early recognition of symptoms, early identification with the system, early diagnosis and initiation of treatment by healthcare personnel, early contact tracing, early notification of results and initial treatment as according to the health commissioner some People and even some doctors most times treat malaria or typhoid,
refusing to call for COVID-19 test until the patient starts experiencing shortness of breath or hypoxia which makes it a difficult case to handle
He then posited that the ministry is training the private healthcare providers so the state health structure will have a unified practice in the handling of the pandemic and ensure early treatment.
Dr. Okpala further advised the public to continue to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols, such as regular hand washing and use of facemasks, to protect themselves against the virus.
In his remarks, the state Focal Person on Infection and Prevention Control, Dr Kenneth Nwokolo, said the state had initiated policies to tackle the disease, including tracing, testing and treatment while urging healthcare providers to work with the COVID-19 sample collectors in the 21 Local Government Areas of the state.
He also advised health professionals to commence treatment protocol immediately; which includes supportive therapy adopted by the state in management of covid-19 patients once anybody presents any of the symptoms, even before the test result comes out as This will make the disease not progress to severe stage and casualties reduced
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