CORONAVIRUS: INTERVENE IN NCDC’S FAILURE TO CARRY OUT TESTS IN KOGI, CROSS RIVER, NMA BEGS BUHARI

The Nigerian Medical Association has called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to urgently intervene in the inability of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to carry out COVID-19 tests in Kogi and Cross River states.

The association described the situation as unfortunate and condemnable.

The governments of Kogi and Cross River states had insisted that they would quarantine for 14 days the NCDC members of staff to be deployed in their states to carry out the test.

The NMA in a statement signed by the President, Dr Francis Faduyile, and the Secretary General, Dr Olumuyiwa Odusote, on Friday, pointed out that the NCDC was empowered by law to control activities and programmes for the national response against infectious diseases and public health emergencies.

The association also said the revamping of abandoned General Hospitals and Primary Health Care Centres would mitigate the challenges with home treatment and acute shortage of bed spaces.

14,000 test kits arrive Lagos airport amid scarcity

A total of 14,000 units of test kits on Friday arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos amid the prevailing scarcity in the country.

The private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 had last month ordered for 400,000 units of test and extraction kits to fast-track molecular testing for the deadly coronavirus.

Scarcity of test kits had slowed down testing in Lagos, Abuja and some other parts of the country.

Officials of COVID-19 told Saturday PUNCH that 14,000 units of test kits arrived the country and were cleared at the Lagos airport on Friday, adding that the 14,000 kits would be handed over to the NCDC on Saturday (today).

The Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, who is a member of the private sector-led coalition, confirmed the development to one of our correspondents.

He said the 14,000 units of test kits were part of the 400,000 units recently ordered by CACOVID-19.