Nigeria

Lagos government says it has spent about N640m on COVID-19 tests

Friday, May 22, 2020 at 2:05 AM by Kess Ewubare

The sum of N640m has been spent on carrying out COVID-19 tests in Lagos state

Akin Abayomi, the state commissioner for health made the disclosure when giving an update on the COVID-19 situation in Lagos

Abayomi said 16,000 people so far have been tested for COVID-19 in the state

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The Lagos state government on Thursday, May 21, disclosed that it has spent N640 million on COVID-19 tests.

Akin Abayomi, the state commissioner for health made the disclosure when giving an update on the COVID-19 situation in Lagos, The Cable reports.

Health commissioner says Lagos has spent N640m on COVID-19 tests — Lagos government said it spends between N40,000 and N50,000 on every COVID-19.
Source: Twitter

He said the state spends between N40,000 and N50,000 per test and has tested 16,000 people so far.

The commissioner pointed out that the COVID-19 tests performed in Lagos was is much higher than anywhere else in Nigeria.

Abayomi said the state is planning to increase the number of tests to about a thousand per day.

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He said the state government was providing COVID-19 tests free of charge for now.

Abayomi noted that Lagos residents who have suspected symptoms of COVID-19 can get tested at any of the four laboratories that carry out tests for the virus.

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Meanwhile, governors under the aegis of Northern Governors' Forum (NGF) have appealed to President Muhammdu Buhari to support the region with special Covid-19 intervention funds in the ongoing battle against novel coronavirus.

Legit.ng notes that the northern states have been terribly buffeted recently by the highly-ravaging scourge since taking a dangerous twist against 35 states including the FCT.

Apart from Lagos which is the epicentre of the virus, coronavirus has hooked down states like Kaduna, Jigawa and Bauchi, with Kano also coming second on the log of states badly affected.

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In a communique on Wednesday, May 20, the governors based their appeal on the ground that their states account 54% of the total Covid-19 cases recorded in the country, Sahara Reporters reports.

Still on health, a popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has warned against the relaxation of lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, saying "one single day will come and spoil all the gains."

Speaking in Kaduna on Wednesday, May 20, after a brief discussion with Governor Nasir El-Rufai, the renowned cleric predicted a sudden spike in cases of coronavirus should people be allowed to pray in congregation.

Gumi spoke against the backdrops of a decision by some governors including Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano to relax lockdown so that Muslims can pray during Eid-l-Fitr, an Islamic festival marking the end of Ramadan fasting period.

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