GeneXpert machines to be validated by the Medical Laboratory Science Council are to be deployed to Kogi and Cross River to expand testing capacity, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Health minister Osagie Ehanire said the Federal Medical Centre in Lokoja and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital would get high priority for deployment of the validated GeneXpert machines, previously used in tuberculosis testing.
Both states still claim to have no coronavirus infection on record. And Kogi has disputed the result of two patients who tested positive after they were transferred from Lokoja to Abuja for management.
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“Our observation is that states are at varying levels of readiness and it is important to re-strategize to meet all citizens at their points of need. COVID-19 is long since a global phenomenon affecting nearly all parts of the world,” he said.
“All nations are working together and I urge all state authorities in Nigeria to accept the reality and also work with each other and Federal Government, and play their part in the strategy to keep the people safe.”
He said that this includes the decentralization that requires making a minimum of 300 isolation beds ready, so that the national health system does not run out of COVID-19 bed spaces.
He added, “As the President has advised, it is best to be fully prepared even if you didn’t have to use it. In this regard, the Federal Ministry of Health stands ready to support all States in their efforts to build resilient and responsive systems for citizens in their states.
“The FCT, for example, is no longer under bed space pressure, having been well supported with assets to meet all levels of care, security and needs.
“There will therefore be no reason for a COVID-19 positive person to be outside a designated Isolation and Treatment centre, especially with the ThisDay Dome Isolation centre ready to take cases. It will be headed in the introductory phase by the Medical Director of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, one of the most experienced virus disease hospitals in Nigeria. The FCT managed Idu covid treatment centre with 500 beds is also ready.”
Ehanire said that the government has conducted an analysis of Health Care Worker Infections and identified critical areas for targeted intervention, to include continuous updates and retraining.
He said that more over 13,000 health workers have been trained, which will result in reduced rate of infection, especially in the line of duty and that the federal government is collaborating with states to cascade the training to lower cadre workers.
“As we move into the next phase of easing of the lockdown, I urgently call on all, to take responsibility for ensuring that we actively play our role in ensuring that COVID-19 does not spike or bounce up, as has been observed in many countries where lockdown was relaxed.
“It is important to bear in mind that this phase, more than the lockdown itself, is in the hands of the people, more than in the hand of government,” the minister said.
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