Edo State Government says 39 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19 in the last 72 hours.
Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Health, Dr Osamwonyi Irowa, said at a press briefing in Benin that the increasing rate of infection among health care workers had become worrisome.
He noted that the health workers were critical to the fight against the spread of the disease.
Irowa said, “We have the challenge of health care workers infected with COVID-19. In the last 72 hours, we have had 39 health care workers infected with the virus.
“This is critical to us because they are at the frontline taking care of persons who have tested positive. It is important to ensure that they are duly protected.”
He said the 39 health workers who tested positive were from the health care centres managing active cases in the state.
“It is our duty to pull the infected healthcare workers out of the system so that they will not infect others,” he said.
He said the government had procured additional Personal Protection Equipment for distribution to health facilities to address rising health care workers’ infection.