COVID-19: Federal govt reopens Kano state testing lab

- The testing centre for COVID-19 in Kano state is up and running again

- The centre was earlier shut down due after it was contaminated and staff members tested positive

- In the last 72 hours, the NCDC sent a team to the state work day and night to reactivate the lab in Kano

The federal government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reopened the testing lab for COVID-19 in Kano state.

The lab was earlier closed after it was contaminated and staff members tested positive. The NCDC had to halt testing to decontaminate the facility while samples were taken to the nation's capital, Abuja during the period.

Unfortunately, Kano witnessed a spike in deaths during the period with some residents, including the state governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, bemoaning the fact that the state has just pone testing lab.

Speaking at the daily COVID-19 Presidential Task Force briefing in Abuja on Monday, April 27, the director-general of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the situation has been rectified.

His words: “The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) lab in Kano was contaminated and biosafety measures had to be strengthened.

“In the interest of all the health workers in AKTH, we had to shut down the lab for a few days. I’m pleased to say we are reopening the Kano Lab today.

“We now have a total of 15 people in Kano and we will continue to scale up the number of people we have supporting Kano.

“In the last 72 hours, we sent a team to work day and night to reactivate AKTH lab in Kano. This has not been an easy effort by any stretch of the imagination. We will not stop until the lab is fully functional again. We are also working to activate a second lab at BUK, Kano.

“At NCDC we consider the states our most important clients. We will continue supporting all states across Nigeria. This is a time for collaboration, leadership and solidarity. It’s not a time to point fingers.”

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Recall that seven health workers recently tested positive for COVID-19 in Borno state.

This was disclosed by the secretary, Borno High Powered Response team on COVID-19, Dr Salihu Kwaya-Bura on Friday, April 24.

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