COVID-19: 105 Tested Positive To HIV In 6 Months In Ogun

 

L-R: The Ogun State Director of Hospital Services, Dr.Qudus Yusuf, the State Director of State Action Committee on AIDS (SACA), Dr. Kehinde Fatungase and the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Hospital Management Board, Dr.Nofiu Aigoro, at a press briefing to mark the year 2020 World AIDS Day. PHOTO: OLAYINKA OLUKOYA.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, on Friday, disclosed that 105 persons tested positive to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), in 6 months, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Coker, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary, Hospitals Management Board, Dr Nofiu Aigoro, at a press conference to mark the 2020 World AIDS Day with the theme: United To End AIDS in the midst of COVID-19, at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The Commissioner explained that about 20,827 persons are currently receiving Anti- Retroviral Therapy (ART) at health facilities providing HIV Testing Services in the state.

Dr Coker said the state has the highest HIV prevalence rate of 1.6 per cent according to (NAIIS 2018) which was far above the national prevalence of 1.4 per cent.

She added that with the prevalence rate the state has the highest cases of HIV in the South West.

Coker added that People Living With HIV (PLHIVs) are at increased risk of contracting and experiencing complications related to COVID-19.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is far-reaching, with devastating effects on individuals, communities, and societies across the world. People with chronic health conditions may be at greater risk of contracting or experiencing complications from COVID-19,” she noted.

The State Director of OGSACA, Dr Kehinde Fatungase, that health care workers provided essential services for PLHIVs during the lockdown in the state.

Fatungase disclosed that the state would launch self-testing kits on December 1st, as part of measure to contain the spread of the virus.

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