COVID-19: Atiku Mourns Doctors, Calls For More Protection Of Medical Personnel

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has mourned two medical doctors who died of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In a tweet on Thursday, the former vice president condoled with the Nigerian Medical Association over the loss of the doctors.

The late medical practitioners were Dr Emeka Chugbo and Dr Aliyu Yakubu whose deaths were announced by the Lagos and Katsina State governments respectively.

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According to Atiku, the death of critical medical personnel in the frontline is an unconscious compromise in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He, therefore, stressed the need to intensify the supply of all necessary items, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to ensure the protection of medical personnel.

Dr Chugbo died at the isolation ward of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) after contracting coronavirus from a patient he was said to be managing in a private hospital.

The Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Professor Chris Bode, said the doctor was brought into the facility late on Monday, after showing severe symptoms.

He added that Chugbo once worked with LUTH before going into private practice.

Dr Yakubu, on the other hand, died of coronavirus days before he was confirmed positive in Daura, a town in Katsina State.

The state governor, Governor Aminu Masari, told reporters earlier in April that the doctor was hospitalised at the Nigerian Air Force Reference Hospital for about two hours before he died, following his return from a trip to Lagos.