Military okays 17 hospitals as COVID-19 isolation centres

Posted by admin Air Force, Armed Forces, Army, Headlines, Navy Friday, March 27th, 2020

Olaleye Aluko, Abuja

The Nigerian military on Friday said it had prepared 17 hospitals for the isolation and treatment of confirmed cases of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Defence Headquarters in a press conference in Abuja added that the military had also concluded plans to recall its retired medical personnel to complement those in the active service.

The Coordinator of the Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen John Enenche, said in Abuja that apart from medical preparations, the military has activated its Disaster Response Units across the country to manage security situations in any part of the country as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Enenche said, “Sequel to the ongoing fight against the spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Armed Forces of Nigeria have put measures in place to aid the civil authorities. As you may be aware, Section 217 (2) c of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), empowers the military to act in aid of civil authority.

“Consequently, a committee was constituted at the Defence Headquarters to ensure that the Armed forces provide the necessary support to the Federal Government of Nigeria, at this period. It is mainly a non-kinetic military operation with major features of civil-military cooperation activities. Equally, it is in line with the Chief of Defence Staff’s lines of conducting contemporary military operations in Nigeria.

“In this regard, the Armed Forces of Nigeria has developed a two-pronged approach to fight the pandemic, namely; the medical and security approaches. The medical approach is the deployment of military personnel in aid of all ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government through the provision of land, maritime and air assets, for transportation of emergency cases and medical supplies, as was the case with the medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation.

“Furthermore, under the medical aid, we have 17 medical facilities spread across the country, which have been designated for isolation and treatment of confirmed cases of the COVID-19. We have also concluded plans to recall our retired medical personnel to complement those in active service.”

-Punch

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