The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Friday, visited the First Consultants Hospital Obalende in Lagos, which has been certified ready for operation after the decontamination done for its treatment of the index Ebola patient, the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer.
Governor Fashola, briefing newsmen after the tour of the facility, said that his visit to the hospital was in order to identify with the staff on the way forward, adding that since the Ebola Virus Disease had been dealt with professionally, the way forward was to get on with life.
“It was also a doctor who just refused to give up on them, Dr. Davis, and this is the way it must be. Whether you are a journalist, a soldier, a police officer or a footballer, just do what you do with dedication and all will be well”, he said.
The Governor said the first stage of the containment process was to save lives while the second stage was to help affected businesses get up and run again.
He reiterated the need for members of the public to put the issue of EVD behind and get on with their lives.
“We (Nigerians) must not live in fear of what we do not know. We have dealt decisively, comfortably and professionally with what we know. Anything that comes out from the woodworks then we must confront it again and deal with it and resolve it,” he said.
Governor Fashola also told the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Benjamin Ohiaeri, to articulate the equipment losses suffered by the hospital as a result of the decontamination after the death of the index case, with the view to assisting the hospital replace such equipment.
He, again, paid glowing tribute to the hospital staff, particularly the management, for the role they played in bringing the index case to the knowledge of the State Government instead of taking the easy way out. He added that if they had not insisted on detaining the patient, the story would have been devastatingly different.
Addressing the public, Governor Fashola said that everything relating to the issue of Ebola has been settled, adding that what remains was for the people to ensure that they take cleanliness very seriously by washing their hands regularly with soap and water.
The CMD, Dr. Ohiaeri, while regretting both the human and material losses suffered by the hospital as a result of the EVD infection from the index case, praised the Governor and the State Ministry of Health for their prompt response to the information on the index case, adding that although the Governor was on lesser hajj at the period, the Ministry acted promptly and professionally.
First Consultants Hospital was where the index case of EVD in the country, Mr. Patrick Sawyer from Liberia, was received and attended to on Sunday, July 20, 2014, after he was rushed from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport where he collapsed on arrival from his country.
He died at the hospital on Friday, July 25. As a result, the hospital was shut down and decontaminated later with some of the equipment destroyed as part of the decontamination process.
With the Governor during the visit were some members of the State Executive Council including the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris and his Special Duties counterpart, Dr. Wale Ahmed as well as other top government officials.
