The Federal Ministry of Health says no accredited private hospital has been given approval to treat coronavirus in the country.

Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire, disclosed this on Friday during the briefing by Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja.

According to him, Lagos is looking at some accredited hospitals. “There’s one large hospital in Lagos that has called me and said they want to become a coronavirus treatment centre”.

The Minister noted that although some private hospitals have shown interest to treat the virus, none have met the criteria to receive approval yet. “We  have not accredited any private hospital to treat COVID-19 patients yet”, he emphasised.

“The structure of the hospital is that they are ready to remove all present patients they have and do nothing but Coronavirus treatment. That would be good because they don’t stand the chance of cross-infection.

“Treating of private patients is not allowed. It is risky. Coronavirus is one of the most easily transmitted diseases you can think of. So, it is not allowed that Coronavirus be treated privately,” he said.

Ehanire added that there are major guidelines that need to be adhered to for a hospital to be able to successfully handle COVID-19.

“If you are a private person and you want to run a treatment centre, you have to show that you have the staff. The doctor must be an infectious disease specialist”.

“You need nurses and even cleaners that are trained because the handling of this hospital is different from ordinary hospitals. They must be trained in infection control professional protocols. The hospital must be properly ventilated.

“You have to have inspection by a team of accreditors that will give you go ahead.”