In a bid to protect the ethics and laws of medical practice, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has warned governors and other politicians not to reveal the identities of Coronavirus patients.
The centre warns that political leaders must refrain from announcing details of COVID-19 cases in their States, adding that this was the responsibility of experts.
Ihekweazu made the call at the Presidential Task Force, PTF’s Wednesday press briefing in Abuja.
“We’re really appealing to our leaders across the country. Please, let the experts do the reporting,” he said.
“Nobody should reveal the identity of a patient, even if it’s the first patient in your State. Please, do not reveal the identity of a patient; the circumstances, whether he’s a doctor not.
“We don’t need all of that. This is a virus. They haven’t committed an offence; they haven’t done anything wrong. We have to show empathy towards all our patients; that’s what we signed up to as healthcare workers,” he said.
According to him, political leaders making details of COVID-19 cases public may not be “ill-intentioned”, but the problem is that “they do not understand the ethics and norms of the medical practice and public health.”