It’s govt duty to punish erring UITH doctor, not ours —NCDC

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Thursday said it would leave any form of punitive action against Professor Alakija Salami, a Senior Consultant at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), over unethical conducts in relation to a COVID-19 patient to the Kwara State government.

The NCDC Team Leader to Kwara, Dr Alihu Adebara, stated this while speaking to journalists in Ilorin, adding that the NCDC will not take any action against Professor Salami, an expert in Infectious diseases.

It would be recalled that Salami had been accused of allegedly concealing the travel history, management and eventual release of the corpse of a suspected COVID -19 patient who died in the UITH.

The state Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, had called for the suspension of Salami.

Read also: Kwara govt orders total lockdown of state over COVID-19

Speaking further, Adebara said the NCDC had assessed the situation and level of preparedness in the state and found out the state government had put in place the necessary facilities.

“Basically, the NCDC has confirmed two cases of COVID-19 in the state and so many contact tracing of over 200 has commenced.

“We will offer the necessary support to compliment the state government’s efforts,” he said.

The NCDC Team Lead, who warned that COVID-19 is real, called on anybody who had been in high risks countries to self isolate for 14 days.

He also encouraged residents to abide by the social distancing directives of the state government, adding that hand washing and hygiene should be practised religiously.

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