Lagos State government has disclosed plans to construct a purpose-built international infectious disease research centre at the existing Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba.
According to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the research centre, apart from enhancing the capacity of the infectious disease hospital, will also better position the state to respond to any outbreak of an infectious disease in post-COVID-19 era.
The centre, Sanwo-Olu said, would be complemented by doctors’ quarters and permanent isolation wards to ramp up capacity for infectious disease as part of the global master plan for the Mainland infectious disease hospital.
The centre is being planned, as the state has received a newly constructed 150-bed isolation centre to accommodate increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in Lagos. The facility has been donated by the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID19 (CACOVID).
“Our infectious disease hospital is seeing a lot of brand new things coming up and we have committed that this hospital post COVID19 would see a purpose built international infectious disease research center; the designs are out already.
We will also be building a purpose built isolation wards, we will ramp up our infrastructure and capacity and not wait for a pandemic to come on us again. We will be building doctors’ quarters in this facility as part pof our global plan for the Yaba Infectious Disease Hospital,” said Sanwo-Olu.
While commending CACOVID for donating the 150- bed Isolation, Sanwo-Olu noted that the facility would add to the state’s capacity and enable it do a lot more in the battle against Covid-19.
“This is the sixth dedicated isolation centres that we have. Several other facilities we are using for quarantine and holding bay but this is the sixth structured isolation centre. I want to on behalf of the people and government of Lagos State commission this facility”, the governor said.
According to the governor, beyond putting up isolation facility for Covid-19 case management, it was, however, important for the citizens to understand that they need to take responsibility against the pandemic.
“It is not a function of how many isolation bed that is built but a case of ourselves taking responsibility, understanding that this virus knows no race, colour or age. Indeed we need to take responsibility because of our loved ones. Covid-19 is real and we owe it a duty to tell our people to be cautious and take precautionary measures and ensure that it is only when we do all of this things that this pandemic can be defeated”.
The state commissioner for health, Akin Abayomi, explained that the 150-bed isolation facility contains PCR laboratory, routine laboratory, bouquet of administrative and ancillary facilities, water treatment plant, waste management system and three power generators for case management.
“This is an extension of facilities at main infectious disease hospital at Yaba where we have about 120 isolation beds and well established intensive care unit (ICU) for patients with severe to critical case. The facility by CACOVID will serve as an additional 150-bed for us to manage the more moderate to severe cases of COVID19 and if any of them needs intensive care, they would be moved across to our ICU”, Abayomi said.
Managing director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe commended the state government and for the timely response against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are proud to have worked very closely with a very strong team to set up what is a model state-of-the-art isolation centre here in Lagos. I must commend the state team with the level of transparency, painstaking attention to detail which we have to go through to make sure that the facility we have here is what can be compared to any other in other parts of the world,” Wigwe said.