COVID-19 Patients Protest Inadequate Medical Attention, Block Highway, Destroy Properties In Gombe

Coronavirus patients at an isolation centre in Kwadon community in Yamaltu Deba local government area of Gombe State broke out of the facility to protest on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

The protesters barricaded the Gombe-Biu road, a highway linking Gombe State with neighbouring Borno, to express their dissatisfaction with the quality of care on offer.

An estimated 20 patients complained on the highway that the government has not been taking proper care of them.

One of them told Channels TV that it took four days after he arrived at the centre before a doctor attended to him.

The patients' protest attracted the attention of locals in the community who crowded around them, raising fears of further community spread of the highly infectious disease.

The state's Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhassan Ibrahim Kwami, said medical care for the patients has been limited because they're asymptomatic.

He said the protest happened only because they didn't properly understand the nature of their infection.

"They are asymptomatic and there is no way anybody can be giving drug without showing any symptoms," he said.

He appealed to the patients to be calm while the state government addresses their concerns.

As of May 4, Gombe has recorded a total of 96 coronavirus cases, with all of them currently under medical care.

Nigeria has recorded 2,802 coronavirus cases in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as of May 4.

417 people have recovered and been discharged after medical treatment, but 93 people have died.