State governors and government officials have been warned against revealing the identities of Coronavirus patients in their various states.
Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, gave the warning on Wednesday at the Presidential Task Force press briefing in Abuja.
Speaking further, Ihekweazu noted that it was the responsibility of experts to announce and reveal the identity of patients.
The NCDC boss added that the governors and officials do not understand the ethics and norms of the medical practice and public healths.
He said: “We’re really appealing to our leaders across the country. Please, let the experts do the reporting.
“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.”
