Coronavirus: Only 5 labs can test for COVID19 in Nigeria - NCDC

Coronavirus: Only 5 labs can test for COVID19 in Nigeria - NCDC

- Nigeria alongside other countries in the world are battling with the spread of the deadly coronavirus

- National Center for Disease Control recently announced it has five laboratories in the country that can test for coronavirus

- The agency noted it is commitment to ensuring the rapid testing of suspected cases

The National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed that there are presently only five laboratories within its laboratory network with the capacity to test for coronavirus in Nigeria.

This was confirmed in a tweet shared on the agency's official Twitter handle on Sunday, March 22.

NCDC went on to note that laboratory teams are working around the clock to ensure rapid testing of samples from suspected cases across the country.

It would be recalled that the World Health Organization (WHO) said Africa has only six labs capable of handling testing for the coronavirus.

This comes as the organization is concerned about the potential outbreak of coronavirus in Africa due to the poor health facilities available on the continent.

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Legit.ng previously reported that the NCDC reported three new cases of coronavirus in Nigeria. The agency via its official Twitter account on Sunday, March 22, revealed that the confirmed cases are from Lagos state bringing the total number of cases to thirty.

Two patients have, however, been discharged with no death recorded. From the tweet, NCDC stated that as at 05:28 pm the two out of the cases are returning travellers while the third is a contact of a confirmed case.

In a related development, the federal government has warned private hospitals not to treat cases of the deadly coronavirus, because the virus is extremely contagious and dangerous to other patients and medical staff.

Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the minister of health, who disclosed this on Friday, March 20, while giving an update on the disease urged hospitals that are privately owned to refer any suspected case of coronavirus to the appropriate centers for diagnosis and treatment, Nigerian Tribune reports.

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Similarly, the general overseer of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, has given a prophetic declaration on the global pandemic called coronavirus.

Speaking at a service held in Canaanland, Ota in Ogun state, on Sunday, March 22, Oyedepo said that God has a solution for the virus, PM News reports.

The cleric said: “Plagues cannot stop us. Coronavirus cannot stop God’s children, but I assure you that the solution will be found this week."

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