The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has activated a new COVID-19 testing facility in Lagos.
The disclosure, which came via a tweet, also made known that the new lab is the Lagos State Biosafety Level-3 Laboratory.
“The Lagos State Biosafety Level-3 Laboratory has been activated for #COVID19 testing. This brings the number of COVID-19 testing labs in Nigeria to 9. In progress- Maiduguri, Kano, Sokoto, Port Harcourt, Jos & Kaduna,” the tweet read.
#COVID19Nigeria UPDATE
The Lagos State Biosafety Level-3 Laboratory has been activated for #COVID19 testing
This brings the number of COVID-19 testing labs in Nigeria to 9
In progress- Maiduguri, Kano, Sokoto, Port Harcourt, Jos & Kaduna#TakeResponsibility pic.twitter.com/EmjJm5zqBt
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) April 5, 2020
This latest addition brings the number of coronavirus testing labs in the country to 9. Lagos already had two testing labs, one at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the other at the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research. The new facility, which is located at Mainland Hospital Yaba, will bring to total three testing facilities in Lagos.
[READ MORE: NDDC shuts operations, earmarks N1 billion for states to combat coronavirus)
Apart from Lagos, the other test labs in the country are in Oyo, Osun, Abuja, Edo and Ebonyi States. However, work is ongoing to activate more coronavirus testing facilities in Maiduguri, Kano, Sokoto, Port Harcourt, Jos and Kaduna.
Meanwhile, the NCDC continues to make progress in its efforts at making it easy for Nigerians to get tested in order to prevent further spread. A few days ago, the agency announced that Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) had partnered with LifeBank, a healthcare technology and logistics company based in Lagos, to conduct “drive-through” test in order to make it easier for people to get tested.
As reported by Nairametrics, the total confirmed cases in Nigeria presently stands at 232 with 5 persons dead and 33 discharged.
