We may soon start treating COVID 19 patients at home - FG

This was disclosed by the Director-General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, during the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday.

He said there was bed spaces shortage especially in Lagos and partly in Abuja and Kano where the cases were high.

The DG said, "Across the country we have about 3,500 bed spaces identified and available for COVID-19. But in Lagos, we are already struggling.

"We are going to work with that to keep trying and making more spaces available but ultimately we might have to change our strategy a little bit, considering home care in certain circumstances where the person is able to provide a room where he or she can be managed sufficiently and secondly we are able to support the care by enabling health workers to come to the house.

"We will always be honest with Nigerians, we are struggling at the moment, we might have to adapt our strategy because of the realities we face over the next few days and weeks. As we do that we will make that clear to Nigerians. Our policy hasn't changed but the pressure is there and it might have to change in the next few days."

The FG had earlier called on state governments to make at least 300 bed spaces isolation centres available in their states because of the rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19, while also calling in homeowners to donate buildings to serve as isolation centres.