A medical doctor has died in Lagos after contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from a patient he treated in a private hospital.
The 51-year-old died on Wednesday morning at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
He was taken to the facility on Monday after attempting to treat a COVID-19 patient in a private hospital in Lagos.
Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee of LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo, said the doctor was trained in LUTH many years ago but left for private practice.
“The doctor is not a LUTH staff; he was a private practitioner, though he trained in LUTH some 18, 20 years ago. I remember I met him, I know him, he left LUTH around 2002. One of his classmates called me that he has some issues in his private hospital, so I asked that he should be brought to LUTH,” he said.
“He was COVID-19 positive, we started him on drugs but unfortunately, he died this morning (Wednesday).”
The Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof Chris Bode, also confirmed the incident, saying the doctor was rushed to the facility after he showed severe signs of the virus.
The Nigerian Medical Association, in a statement on Wednesday, commiserated with the deceased’s family and the entire medical community.
“Until his death, he was a private medical practitioner, who was exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19,” the statement read.
“We condole with his immediate family and members of the medical community for this painful loss.”
