Cross River Govt Bars People Without Facemask From Entering Hospitals

Cross River has ban anyone without facemask from entering hospitals in the state, this measure was ensured to avoid any spread of the virus.

The Cross River State Government has said that its policy on face mask is also applicable to all the hospitals in the state.

Cross River is one of the first states in Nigeria that made it mandatory for residents to wear face mask whenever in the public because of the novel coronavirus.

As reported by Premiumtimes, the Commissioner for Health in Cross River State, Betty Edu, on Friday, paid an unscheduled visit to the General Hospital, Calabar, where she insisted that only persons wearing face mask should have access to hospitals in the state.

Mrs Edu, a medical doctor, is also the head of the COVID-19 Taskforce in Cross River. She was in the hospital to meet with health workers who are on the front line in the fight against the coronavirus.

Mrs Edu said following the increase in the rate of health workers infected by the virus across the country especially in Lagos, there is need for adequate measures to protect health workers in Cross River state.

She said patients and non-patients must wear face mask before they could access health facilities in the state. “If everyone wears a mask, the chances of transmission is as low as 1.5 per cent. No one without a nose mask will be allowed to pass through the hospital gate. We must protect our health workers and clients at this critical time,” she said.

The commissioner said she was impressed with the work the health workers were doing in the General Hospital, Calabar.

She donated some Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the hospital and held side meetings with the officials and other health workers.

She advised the hsopital to take precautionary measures when dealing with patients and report any suspected case of COVID-19 to the state epidemiologist for proper evacuation and attention.