The Government of Anambra State has said Prof Onochie Udemezue, the late Provost of College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, who died about a week ago, resorted to self-medication in a desperate bid to treat COVID-19.
According to a memo sent to Governor Willie Obiano by an unnamed commissioner, the state accused the late professor of treating himself in his private clinic.
The memo reads: “Professor Udemezue reasonably suspected that he was afflicted by COVID-19, but he chose to hide the illness from the hospital where he was working. He treated himself in his private hospital in Nnewi, his hometown.
“Self-treatment in a serious contagion like COVID-19 is a grave error. His private hospital is not designated for management of COVID-19 cases.
“It is regrettable that the Anambra State Government and its health bodies were not aware of Professor Udemezue’s health challenge. Government officials became aware after the professor had died. The professor was brought secretly to NAUTH when his case had become very bad, and it was not reported to the state government rapid response team.”
The memo said half of the workers in the administration department of the teaching hospital where Udemezue’s wife was working were in self-isolation.
