03-29-2020, 11:49 AM
Quote:Nigeria has added two new centres to the list of laboratories that can test for Covid-19 in the country.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed this on its Twitter handle late Saturday evening.
This brings the total number of laboratories where Covid-19 can be tested in the country to seven.
The new laboratories are located in Oyo and Ebonyi states.
Out of the two new testing centres, the one located in Oyo is said to be ready for operation, while the second one is still being set up.
This implies that as of Sunday morning, Covid-19 test can be done in six places across the country.
NCDC in its tweet said “we have expanded the number of labs with the capacity to test for #COVID19 to 6 with the inclusion of the Virology Laboratory of University College Hospital, Ibadan.
“Tomorrow (Sunday), we will be in Abakaliki to set up another lab as we quickly ramp up #COVID19 testing capacity in Nigeria.”
Nigeria previously had five molecular laboratories with the capacity to test for Covid-19. The five were located in Lagos (2), Osun, Edo and FCT.
The NCDC in a previous tweet had said: “our lab teams are working around the clock to ensure rapid testing of samples from suspected Covid-19 Nigeria cases across the country.”
Testing
The new laboratories are expected to increase the number of tests done in the country and the time taken to get results of the tests.
Testing is a required prerequisite for confirmation of the Covid-19, especially in people who are asymptomatic.
The World Health Organisation has said the only way to overcome the pandemic was for countries to keep testing.
“… But to suppress and control epidemics, countries must isolate, test, treat and trace,” the WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said.
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