DON'T STIGMATIZE COVID-19 PATIENTS, OBEY GOVERNMENT DIRECTIVE & STAY HEALTHY-DR FILIMON GOLWA

The Editorial team of the NewsGate Magazine, led by Chief Amb.Nanyah Andrew Daman, the Group Managing Editor, squeezed time out of the ever busy and the always in the operating theater,as well as the Casualty Unit of the Plateau State Specialist Hospital, Chief Medical Director, Dr Filimon Habila Golwa,for a media interview, to find out a number of issues regarding the global COVID-19 Pandemic and the way out of the woods. 

Dr Golwa was as at his best dishing out facts on a familiar turf,China, Wuhan and the Coronavirus as well as the Plateau State COVID-19 Committee and their efforts to flatten the curve under the able leadership of the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt.Hon Barr Dr Simon Bako Lalong KSGG. 
The interview can be described as explosive, revealing, intelligent and unputdownable. 
Please Enjoy the Excerpts:

The NewsGate Magazine: Good morning CMD. We are here on a fact finding mission, to know how the hospital is faring with the emergence and spread of Corona Virus. Sir, how many people do you have in the isolation ward?

Dr. Golwa: Thank you very much for such a question. Well, for now, we don't have any case. The initial one that was said to have been quarantined was initially in Mangu and was later transferred back to JUTH. So, that was the only index case we have been talking about. But for us here at the Plateau State Specialists Hospital, we don't have a single case.

The NewsGate Magazine: Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, have you recorded a rise or a decline in the number of persons seeking medical attention in the hospital since most private hospitals are closed?

Dr. Golwa: Well, there's no much changes. This is because the operational mechanism of this hospital is such that you'll always have patients coming to the hospital at every point in time. Firstly, the strategic location of the hospital makes it vulnerable to always having a large population. But the number has decreased slightly but not to a significant level; reason being that people are likely not able to transport themselves to the hospital during the lockdown. Moreso, we created room for distant appointments; for example, a patient that is supposed to come back in two weeks time, the timing is increased to like four weeks to give room for the lockdown and also in tandem with government's policy of social distancing and also to dicongest the General Out Patients Department.

The NewsGate Magazine: Do you have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

Dr. Golwa: At the initial stage of the lockdown, we actually had alot of issues. During the last Ebola episode, we had a few PPEs but not enough to go anywhere and those ones have been in the store. So, when we wanted to activate the mechanism for PPEs, we found out that we didn't have much. We had to go on a search and today, I can confidently tell you that we have enough now. We have an individual who is into PPEs and he was able to supply us. In fact, the last batch came in two days ago. We also have some PPEs that came in from the Office of the First Lady, through the Aisha Buhari Foundation. The Matron collected those ones on behalf of the hospital last Saturday.
You know that PPEs are not for every staff but for the frontliners managing the COVID-19. We have enough for these group of people.

The NewsGate Magazine: A lady was brought here from Dogon karfe, an area where a lady tested positive to COVID-19 but she was rejected and turned back. What is your position on this?

Dr. Golwa: Well, I'm surprised that there was a patient that was turndown. I'm yet to find out or get any reports from the casualty officers as to when and how was such a patient turned back.
As far as I am concerned, contact tracing of the whole of that vicinity was done and I'm sure everyone who has come in contact with the lady that tested positive to COVID-19 must have been identified, isolated and tested also. So, that area is free and I'm surprised to hear that somebody came from that area and was turned back. I'll find out more about that and get back to you.

The NewsGate Magazine: Sir, you were trained as a Doctor in China and this COVID19 virus also originated from China. How fatal is the virus?

Dr. Golwa: Let me give you a background of the Corona virus generally. The first incident that was recorded and documented was 1968. I was in Beijing and then also went back to Wuhan were a particular incident occurred. I was in that city, my kids were also born there. Then, it was the SARS Virus that came up, and Corona virus is in the same group with the SARS Virus. I cannot tell you how it came out from the zenotics, that's the offshoot birds to human beings, but alot of research is usually being carried out in that laboratory, involving both humans and animals. If you cut off the nose of a bat, there are Corona viruses inherent there and they don't cause any problems to humans. But maybe, in the cause of the research, a transformation must have taken place to make it a variant of the SARS Virus, that's why it was named COVID-19.
Well, their social life made it easier for them to control the viruses even as at that time. A typical Asian doesn't hug much like the way we Africans do; they don't shake hands but rather, they bow. So, those things helped them to have a very good control. If everybody is having facemasks passing the virus from person to person becomes less likely. That is very peculiar to the Asians generally.
COVID-19 is a virus that came up as a result of the transformation that must have happened to make it this viral in nature. Thus, it eventually became a problem for the whole world.

The NewsGate Magazine: Do you subscribe to the views that Nigerians should be mandated to always wear facemasks henceforth?

Dr. Golwa: Let's even look at the masks itself. Why do you have to wear facemasks? The essence of the masks is for droplets. It is not because you want to prevent any atmospheric infections. And how do you get droplets? It's from an individual desipating to another individual due to a distance of less than two metres.
So, if you have COVID-19, you are supposed to wear a facemask to prevent the droplet from desipating to another person. So, wearing masks is really not mandatory. It is only in cases where social distancing is not observed that you need to wear a mask. So if you're going to any gathering or crowded places like burials, weddings, markets or hospitals, you should wear a mask. Health workers are generally required to wear facemasks, especially those in the General Out Patients Department.

The NewsGate Magazine: There have been calls for more COVID-19 testing centers. Is the Plateau State Specialists Hospital designated as one? After all, the hospital houses the Human Virology Center.

Dr. Golwa: That's a good question and it's a bit technical too. This is because policy making is beyond my control and what I can answer. But, what I can say is the fact that we have had experts from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC). They were sent from the Federal Government and they went round for inspection. They saw the laboratory and saw that there's a few gap to be met.
What has happened is that; the Federal Government wanted to institute a testing center and they looked at NVRI, Vom as much more better in the sense that; there's what we call RTPCR. That particular machine was initially found at NVRI, which they were using for their researches. But here, we are yet to upgrade so as to have the adequate mechanism for the testing. So, it was a Federal Government mechanism that wanted a testing center to be cited in Jos and when they went to NVRI, Vom, they discovered that it has everything they needed for the testing and thus, cited the testing center there.
But presently, all mechanisms necessary have been put in place here for the testing center. Since we're going to have more laboratories as testing centers, we have positioned ourselves to be enlisted in the next batch. I can guarantee you that any moment from now, you'll begin to see action.

The NewsGate Magazine: The Medical Laboratory Scientists are complaining that the COVID-19 team in Plateau State are not carrying them along. What is your position on this?

Dr. Golwa: Well, I will not agree to that 100 percent. Because even in the NVRI, Vom, there are quite a number of Medical Laboratory Scientists on the team. One of them was a Staff here before relocating to NVRI,Vom, even yesterday he was here. So, we may not really have everyone on board but if we have a select persons to represent others, I think that is good enough.

The NewsGate Magazine: How many ventilators and other COVID-19 treatment machines do you have at the Plateau State Specialists Hospital?

Dr. Golwa: Well, I happen to be in the COVID-19 team and we are also discussing on the ventilators. But presently, we have two ventilators which are actively working. And we have also acquired some through the State Ministry of Health and right now, they are at the Central Medical Store, ready for use. I can also say that Government is really working hard to get more. Currently we are working on another pathway to get more ventilators.
We tried getting it from Europe but it was impossible but just yesterday, somebody brought the idea of buying from Israel. I have drafted a letter to a special company in Israel, mandating them to give us ventilators. They needed a letter, which I drafted yesterday on behalf of the State Ministry of Health so that we can get the ventilators. That pathway is still ongoing and I'm sure, very soon we will have more than it's required in this hospital.

The NewsGate Magazine: Sir, don't you think that with the advent of COVID-19, the Plateau State Government should have empowered and better equip the Plateau State Specialists Hospital so as to discourage medical tourism?

Dr. Golwa: Even before COVID-19, that has been the cry of the Government. The Governor has been working round the clock to make sure that this hospital takes centre stage in health system. And he is really working hard based on what he has put on ground.
Shortly before this pandemic, we've had very fruitful discussions on trying to complete some of the ongoing structures that we have and turn around the hospital into a first stage hospital in the nation. So I believe he's working very hard, except for the constraints of finances which is not peculiar to Plateau State alone. It is something that's been there and I believe he'll keep working towards it.

The NewsGate Magazine: Are you happy that Plateau State is not among the 24 States that are going to benefit from the IMF grant of about 24.3b Naira IMF Grants?

Dr. Golwa: I'm really not happy but what I can say is that, I do not know the mechanism for the activation of such grants. The formula which they followed, I don't seem to have an idea. But it looks like there are indices they are looking for, that will serve as basis for giving the grant. And of course, if we have not really fulfilled that index, it will be difficult; but I'm really not pleased. With the epileptic nature of our health system, we would have been part of the beneficiaries of such a grant.

The NewsGate Magazine: Are you contented with the awareness and public enlightenment on COVID-19 in the State by the Plateau State Specialists Hospital?

Dr. Golwa: This is very interesting because there's a very big mechanism on public enlightenment initiated by the Ministry of Health to teach people on what is required and what government is saying. Shortly before now, we have agreed that, if everybody on the Plateau is Corona virus negative, then we can't afford to have one case. It also means that by having a case, we have failed in the control of the influx of people that come to the state. That's why we're still emphasizing that we cannot afford to have people coming to introduce the infection to us here when we have been living peacefully without a single case of Corona. Our cry is that people should follow strictly, what government have put in place, especially at the boarders.
If the boarder is under lock and key and other states are locked as well, then we remain the way we are and can continue our lives in the best way. But one person, coming to introduce the infection to us and take up to thousands and a whole community can be wiped out from this.
Why would somebody, knowing that Kano is on lockdown, sneak to go there to attend an event and come back to introduce an infection here in Jos; it's something I find hard and difficult to believe. Simple instructions and simple obedience would have averted all these. So, we are calling on every body, to follow strictly, what government has put in place on this COVID-19. Let all the measures and laws put in place be followed strictly. If we say stay at home, please stay at home because that way, somebody cannot introduce the virus to you, neither can you infect another. That is the basic message we're passing across for everybody to know.
Our campaign here is the basic teaching that we have been teaching everywhere. We have put some measures in place, especially at the entrance of the hospital. It is assumed that anyone coming to the hospital is negative but we can never be too sure. We have temperature taking equipment at the gate with extra batteries, so as to ensure everyone's temperature is taken at the gate alongside other measures like the simple hand washing.
And then if the casualty ward is becoming too congested, we have made arrangements for security personnel to ensure that social distancing is maintained with at least two metres away. That way, we're certain that we're following all the guidelines issued by Government on COVID-19.

The NewsGate Magazine: What is your call on the stigmatisation of persons with COVID-19, those on isolation and those quarantined?

Dr. Golwa: Actually, there's really no basis for stigmatisation whatsoever. The fatality rate of COVID-19 is less than two percent, so there's really no basis for alarm. Moreover, it's not something you contact through a bad lifestyle but by merely standing next to someone who has the virus. So, the issue of stigmatisation shouldn't even be an issue for anybody who is learned.
And then anybody who is harbouring someone that is coming into the state should come out and report such because diseases do not hide; sooner or later, it will come out. Unfortunately, before it will manifest, it would have already destroyed the whole community.
 There's no point to harbor somebody and refuse to bring out the person for testing. We're telling everyone that there's no need to stigmatize, no need to be afraid. Come out and be tested. Once you have been declared Corona free, I'm sure you'll be much more happier.