The National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu spoke to the media during a PTF briefing on Monday warning Nigerians of a possible second wave of COVID-19. But that should not be the case, and knowing that Nigeria is underperforming in COVID-19 tests, Aliyu joined forces with the rest of the PTF members to encourage more people to get tested.
Aliyu’s statement says, “The PTF remains seriously concerned about the current low testing rate we have in the country. Nigerians are not getting tested for COVID-19 but we must test to track, in order to slow the spread of the virus even further and to stop any more preventable COVID-related death.”
COVID-19 Tests in Nigeria
COVID-19 weekly assessments show that fewer people go for test mostly due to fee, stigmatisation and fear. The PTF, therefore, noted that there are 69 government establishments offer COVID-19 tests for free.
The Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chike Ihekweazu who was also at the briefing noted that COVID-19 testing centres in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun and Kano states are very active. However, the DG also named a few states that have slowed down testing rates.
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According to the DG, there is a chance that COVID-19 will spread further with the resumption of schools and airports. Reluctance and complacency are big prices to pay and testing will bolster the fight against the virus. The DG also made a suggestion saying that level of testing could increase as schools and airports reopen.
States have been funded with N1 billion each by the federal government according to Aliyu. The purpose is to help them further COVID-19 response, make testing and COVID-19 surveillance activities a priority. He further encourages more states to make their testing locations public for easy access by Nigerians.
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