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General News of Thursday, 30 April 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Governors warned against revealing identities of COVID-19 patients

Chikwe Ihekweazu Chikwe Ihekweazu

The Nigerian Center for Disease Control, NCDC, has advised governors and authorities against announcing the identities of COVID-19 patients.

NCDC DG, Chikwe Ihekweazu who gave the advise stated that such details should be left to experts to handle.

The DG stated this at the daily press briefing organized by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja on Wednesday.

“We’re really appealing to our leaders across the country. Please, let the experts do the reporting,” he said.

“Nobody should reveal the identity of a patient, even if it’s the first patient in your State. Please, do not reveal the identity of a patient; the circumstances, whether he’s a doctor not.

“We don’t need all of that. This is a virus. They haven’t committed an offence; they haven’t done anything wrong. We have to show empathy towards all our patients; that’s what we signed up to as healthcare workers,” he said.

He added that the decision by leaders to make public details of COVID-19 cases may not be “ill-intentioned”. However, he stated that “they do not understand the ethics and norms of the medical practice and public health.”