COVID-19 Survivors Attest To Having ‘Three Square Meals’ In Delta

Contrary to earlier impression which made the round that COVID-19 patients are poorly fed in not well-equipped isolation centres in Delta State, the index case in the state, Chief Austin Eruotor and Chief Jerry Azinge, the fourth confirmed case in the state, have attested to improved medical centres for the infection treatment as well as good feeding arrangement for patients.

The duo spoke at a news conference in Asaba, the state capital.

Speaking during the press briefing, Chief Eruotor said that he was well taken care of by officials at the Oghara Isolation Centre who were monitoring him at intervals through CCTV surveillance camera in his room.

“I must commend the state government for its care and for treating us free of charge. I was well-taken care of with all manner of food at my request.

“I must thank our governor for making me an ambassador in the fight against COVID-19 in the state. I thank him for all his prayers, his love and care and I also thank the COVID-19 team, the doctors and nurses who were very hard-working, for taking good care of me at the isolation centre”, he said.

Also, Azinge who stressed that COVID-19 is real, said, “I thank the governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, for his proactive steps in curtailing this deadly virus. He has shown immense commitment not only as leader of people in Delta State but as an accomplished medical doctor.

“He has put together a very formidable medical team to handle this pandemic, ably led by the very experienced Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mordi Ononye, who has indeed worked tirelessly to make sure that the incidents of COVID-19 infected people in Delta are put at a reasonable minimum.

“I thank them for this and I commend the governor for the health care facility he has put in place, particularly in Asaba where I was treated. I felt very relaxed; I knew it was just a matter of time for the disease to be taken care of.

“The quality of healthcare supplied by the doctors was of international standard and I thank them for this,’’ he said.

Azinge added that in the isolation room, every equipment was “brand new’’ saying “when they gave me a bed, I looked up, the room was air-conditioned and by my left was a flat screen television and by my right was a refrigerator and I said I am not in a hotel.

“I was there for 18 days and every morning the matron of the hospital will call me to ask what I will like to eat for breakfast, and I asked if I was going to pay for it, and she said `no’ that I was at the hospital on the bill of the state government and that anything I feel like eating they will let me have it.

“Lunch and dinner were the same way, and the following day, she came again and I asked myself what’s going on here. I felt like someone on a medical vacation.

“If you come in for treatment early enough, you are sure to go home well and cured, particularly in Delta State where there is comfort provided for the patients – three square meals a day for free, air-conditioned rooms among others,” Azinge said.

BIGPEN reports that Delta currently has 116 confirmed cases of the pandemic, 31 recoveries, 77 active cases and eight deaths which is about seven per cent fatality rate, according to the State Ministry of Health.