Coronavirus: We are in desperate need of test kits - NCDC
- NCDC says Nigeria desperately needs testing kits
- According to reports, only 600 people are being tested daily
- As a result of this, the NMA wants Nigeria to scale up its testing capacity
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed that the country is “desperately” looking for more Ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction kits to expand testing.
This was disclosed by Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the government agency, in a tweet.
“We’re desperately looking for more RNA extraction kits as we expand our COVID-19 testing.
“Product: Total viral RNA extraction kits (preferably spin column and with a lysis buffer). Manufacturers: Qiagen, Thermo Fischer, SeeGene, Inqaba, LifeRiver etc.”
The Nation reports that the NCDC has done 10,413 tests as of April 24, with about 600 tested daily.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) President, Dr Francis Faduyile, said if Ghana could test over 50,000 and South Africa has tested over 100,000, Nigeria ought to scale up its testing.
“We have said there is a need for us to have some rapid screening kits. NMA has suggested that our pathologists should validate some of these rapid testing kits.
“Once it is validated, it should be easier for us to do tests in a much more rapid period and we can test a large number of people in a very short period,” he said.
Recall that Legit.ng had reported that barely three months after the COVID-19 index case was confirmed in Lagos, the infectious disease has now spread to 33 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Despite movement restrictions put in place by the federal and state governments, the disease is fastly spreading to all the states of the federation.
Within the last 24 hours, available data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicates that COVID-19 has just spread to four new states. The states are:
1. Ebonyi
2. Bayelsa
3. Kebbi
4. Taraba
The NCDC stated in its COVID-19 highlights published on Sunday: "On the 26th of April 2020, 91 new confirmed cases and five new deaths were recorded in Nigeria
"Four new states (Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Kebbi and Taraba) have reported confirmed cases in the last 24 hours.
PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet!
"Till date, 1273 cases have been confirmed, 239 cases have been discharged and 40 deaths have been recorded in 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory
"The 91 new cases are reported from sixteen states- Lagos (43), Sokoto (8), Taraba (6), Kaduna(5), Gombe (5), Ondo (3), FCT (3), Edo (3), Oyo (3), Rivers (3), Bauchi (3), Osun (2), Akwa Ibom (1), Bayelsa (1), Ebonyi (1), Kebbi (1).
"A multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities."
NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better
Nigerians will die of hunger than COVID-19 | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
