COVID-19: Lagos optimistic on hydroxychloroquine clinical trial for treatment
Lagos State Government has expressed confidence in the clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine as treatment for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) despite controversy.
Recall that World Health Organisation, WHO, Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, two weeks ago announced the temporary suspension of testing of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure. The suspension came days after US President Donald Trump announced he had been taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against the virus.
The WHO had previously recommended against using hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent coronavirus infections, except as part of clinical trials. In a twist, WHO recently resumed the the clinical trial exploring whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine can effectively treat COVID-19, after pausing enrollment in the Solidarity Trial to review safety concern about the drug. However, the state government expressed commitment to the use of the drugs.
The state Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi made the assertion on Friday, during a media briefing on COVID-19 situation report in the state. Abayomi said the rapid diagnostic test for the virus are inaccurate thereby increasing spread of COVID-19 and “the tests have not been registered and validated for use even though they are fast and test result are usually ready within five minutes.” According to him, “Vendors of the product are selling illegally, that is why there are no validation and testing of the product in legalized areas as government must give permission to perform the rapid test due to accuracy. But the bench mark test will still be performed for clarity and peace of mind.”
Abayomi said the state is redefining strategy of testing and has discovered more cases, hence, the introduction of home base treatment inorder to attend to more severe cases in the isolation centres, stressing that the state has not started yet because it involves a lot of criteria and also the primary health care in the exercise. “In the coming weeks strategies will be develop to initiate community and home base treatment and care. This will also involve the local government and people to perfect this form of care the coronavirus disease,” Abayomi stated.
The commissioner, however, stressed that there was no cause for fear as just 1 per cent of total deaths has been recorded involving the COVID-19 pandemic In the state as well as the country compared to other climes across the globe such as: United States of America, USA, Britain, Spain, among others.
Meantime, ahead of the reopening of religious centres in Lagos, from June 19 and 21, 2020, the state government has vowed to enforce all safety guidelines and protocols earlier reeled out by the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday, as it directed religious leaders to ensure use of facemask by worshippers and staff in churches and mosques during service as any violation would attract closure. The government has also prohibited parents from taking their infants to religious gatherings, warning that the flouting of this directive would attract sanctions against such parents.
The Director General of Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, who handed this down at a media briefing, said officials would be deployed to strictly enforce all the guidelines.
According to Mojola, government expects that in a families with infants, one of the parents would stay home to offer care, while the other could attend church or mosque service. It is also expected that worshipers would observe the standard two metres social distancing protocol from each other while seated in the church or mosque. Such protocols, he said, include: mandatory wearing of facemasks by all persons going into the churches and mosques, provision for hand-washing under running water, temperature check, sanitizers and observance of social distance by the worshipers.
“While all event centres remain shut until further notice, those used for religious gatherings, could however, open but strictly for that purpose and must observe all the protocols,” Mojola said. The DG, who also disclosed that over a thousand applications have been received from owners and operators of all events, gyms and other social places not yet given the nod to reopen, urged them to continue the register-to open procedures and obtain their certificates, stressing that the registration and certificate issuance are at no cost to such businesses.
The religious centres are also expected to limit their gatherings only to regular Sunday services (churches) and Friday Jumat prayers ( mosques) as all other services including night vigils are prohibited for the time being. There are also prevented from communion or sharing of food of any kind in the churches or kettle in the mosques. The governor said aged persons, 65 years and above as well young people, 15 years and below are to steer clear from all religious gatherings until otherwise further directed.
This, according to him, is necessary, as statistics of fatalities showed that persons within these brackets are more susceptible to the pandemic. Compliance with these measures, the governor warned, would be strictly monitored by officials of the Lagos State Safety Commission, who would be paying surprise visits to the religious houses. Vanguard
