As NCDC expands labs with the capacity to test for #COVID19
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed eight new cases of COVID-19 bring the total number in the country to 97
The public health agency said in its tweet Saturday night that of the eight cases, four were reported in Oyo State, two in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), one each in Kaduna and Osun states.
The current statistics according to NCDC show that Lagos is still leading with 59 cases, FCT, 16; Oyo, seven; Ogun, three, Enugu, Osun and Bauchi states, two apiece and Ekiti, Rivers, Benue and Kaduna states, one each.
So far, three have been discharged; one has died while 93 persons are currently being managed.
Meanwhile, the director general of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu said yesterday that the agency had expanded the number of laboratories with the capacity to test for #COVID19 to six with the inclusion of the virology laboratory of the University College Hospital, Ibadan
Ihekweazu who disclosed this to the journalists in Abuja, while giving an update on the disease in the country said: “Tomorrow (today), we will be in Abakaliki to set up another lab as we quickly ramp up #COVID19 testing capacity in Nigeria.”
“Currently, samples from cases that meet the case definition are collected by the State Epidemiology Team, and transported through a defined process funded by NCDC, from the state to one of the testing laboratories.
“The inclusion of one more laboratory will increase the capacity to detect cases in the country.
He further said that the establishment of COVID-19 testing capacity in the laboratories was based on existing resources.
“The NCDC Team will be in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, to set up COVID-19 testing capacity, in the existing Molecular laboratory within the state,” he said.
He said each laboratory costs about N150 million to build and equip initially, and millions of naira to maintain functionality.
He disclosed that NCDC was keeping abreast of new technologies available and validated globally, to support the scale up of testing capacity for COVID-19.
Ihekweazu added that each laboratory would continue to provide diagnostic support for a defined number of states in the country.
The NCDC boss said that the laboratories were critical to reducing turnaround time between identifying a suspected case and confirmation.
“Our strategy is to find cases quickly, isolate, follow up with contacts and treat these cases. We are working very hard to flatten the curve in Nigeria,” he stated.
It would be recalled that Nigeria had earlier set up five molecular laboratories with testing capacity.
The facilities are located in the NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Redeemers University Nigeria, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos.
