Categories: Headlines

Over 2,000 Persons Have Been Tested For COVID-19 – Health Minister

 

The Minister for Health, Dr Osagie Ohanire, has announced that over 2,000 persons have been tested so far for the COVID-19 disease in the country.

He said this on Wednesday during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, noting that the government is making efforts to further expand and improve the diagnostic capacity across the board.

“This week, two more laboratories were added to the NCDC network of molecular laboratories for COVID-19 at University College Hospital Ibadan and Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State,” the minister further stated.

As of today, April 1, 2020, Nigeria has recorded 151 infections with Lagos and the FCT still having the highest numbers of 82 and 28 respectively.

Read Also: Nigeria Records 12 New COVID-19 Infections, Total Cases Rise To 151

According to Dr Ehanire, a breakdown of the cases shows that about 70% of them are male while about 30% of them are female.

“The age range is mostly between 30 and 60 years but I must be quick to stress that both men and women of all ages can be infected,” he added.

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health is using the window of opportunity of the lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun, to accelerate activities to detect, isolate and treat cases.

“This is important because our ability to achieve the objectives in these states and the FCT will largely define our success in slowing the spread of the infection in our country,” he said.

A critical factor, however, will be the cooperation of members of the public and their adherence to the stay-at-home order especially in the areas under lockdown.

By so doing, “you would have contributed to the efforts to put this under control and return to our normal activities” the minister said.

Meanwhile, as part of preparedness in the Abuja metropolis, he noted that there are “over 1000 bed spaces ready for isolation and treatment of mild to moderate cases.

“We have ICU units ready in Gwagwalada and national hospitals for those who may have complications especially those with underlying illnesses like tuberculosis, HIV, Cancer and also the elderly”.

He, therefore, advised Nigerians to protect the elder and other vulnerable groups of people in society.

Rejoice Ewodage

Disqus Comments Loading...
Share
Published by
Rejoice Ewodage

Recent Posts

African Union ‘Warmly Congratulates’ Faye On Senegal Election Victory

Senegal's Constitutional Court could declare Faye the official winner before the weekend, which would make…

2 mins ago

Song Lyrics Are Getting Simpler, More Repetitive – Study

The results also confirmed previous research, which had shown a decrease in positive, joyful lyrics…

7 mins ago

Ex-South African President Zuma Survives Car Crash – Police

The incident happened just hours after electoral officials barred Zuma from standing in the May…

17 mins ago

Harvard Library Removes Human Skin From Book Binding

Anthropodermic bibliopegy -- the practice of binding books in human skin -- was once a…

1 hour ago

Nigeria Splashes N12trn On Petroleum Products In One Year- NBS

The NBS reported that petroleum products imports accounted for about 33 per cent of total…

1 hour ago

Nigerians Mark Good Friday Amid Biting Economy

This year's celebration comes amid a biting economy shaped by the rising cost of living,…

2 hours ago