Oyo State government has warned private health facilities in the state against treating COVID-19 cases or testing samples.

The government gave the warning as the rising number of COVID-19 cases have been linked to the facilities.

Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and the state’s COVID-19 Technical Task Force gave the warning on Saturday.

The task force said there are 30 approved Testing Centres including the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan.

Both the task force and EDC stated that patients with coronavirus symptoms are to be referred to these centres for testing and that testing for symptomatic or suspected cases is free.

Chairman of the state’s COVID-19 Technical Task Force, Professor Temitope Alonge, in a memo also appealed to health workers to comply strictly with the advisory.

Alonge said the Oyo State Government could not afford any depletion in the healthcare workforce due to ill-health arising from coronavirus infections.

“The spread of the new wave of the coronavirus infection in Oyo State is increasing and the report reaching the Emergency Operations Centre and the Technical Task Force is that some of the people infected had been managed for various ailments in some private health facilities.

“In some cases, the private health facilities fail to notify the EOC about suspected cases that would have had their samples taken by the EOC at the invitation of the private health facilities.

“Sampling of such cases by the EOC has been the established protocol and it is still in place.

“However, repeated breach of this protocol is worrisome and I wish to remind all health care providers that we are not immune to this infection and admitting suspected cases in private health facilities is unacceptable.

“No private health facility in Oyo State has been licensed to manage COVID-19 patients. Strict adherence to the laid down infection prevention and control measures will be enforced by the EOC at any private health facility.

Meanwhile, as at 10th January, Nigeria recorded 1024 new cases of COVID-19 with Oyo state not making the list.

See result below:

Lagos-653
Plateau-63
Benue-48
Zamfara-45
FCT-42
Rivers-27
Ondo-26
Adamawa-26
Kaduna-22
Edo-18
Ogun-16
Imo-12
Kano-9
Yobe-6
Ekiti-5
Jigawa-4
Osun-2

100,087 confirmed
80,030 discharged
1,358 deaths