Nigeria: COVID-19 patients protest over 'ill treatment'

ANKARA (AA) - A group of coronavirus patients being treated at an isolation facility in northeastern Nigeria protested against “ill-treatment” by the government authorities, local media reported on Tuesday.

Nearly 20 patients forced their way out of the facility in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area, to protest against alleged improper care, which according to them worsen their health condition.

''Government should do the needful before it gets out of hand because the patients we saw today are really angry and we don’t know what could happen next,'' an eyewitness was quoted as saying by the local daily Guardian.

Alhassan Ibrahim Kwami, the commissioner of information and culture, said the patients were protesting because they “misunderstood” their coronavirus status, according to the Premium Times website.

The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria are 2,950 cases so far, with 98 deaths, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based John Hopkins university.

Kwami said among reasons behind the protest was that one of the patients is suffering from the ailment which other patients were not comfortable sharing bathroom with.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed nearly 257,800 worldwide, with total infections close to 3.68 million, while almost 1.2 million patients have recovered, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.