42 Labs Failed To Test COVID-19 Samples, Send Results — NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Sunday listed 42 government-owned testing centres which it said have failed to test COVID-19 samples of inbound and outbound passengers and also send results.

Those listed include the University College Hospital, Ibadan; Jos University Teaching Hospital; and the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina.

Recall that the Director General of the NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, in a statement, had insisted that the country would continue to require COVID-19 test results from inbound and outbound passengers.

According to the NCDC boss, the country had reported no fewer than 18,000 imported cases of COVID-19 from other countries in a short period.

In the latest epidemiological report published by the centre, the centre listed 42 government-owned testing laboratories who failed to test samples by passengers and send reports.

The centres are the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano; Osun state University Teaching Hospital; Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital; SSH (Kogi); PLASVREC (Plateau), Bayero University Kano; ZANKLI GX Lab, (Nasarawa); Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Yobe; University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Cross River; University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital; Taraba State Specialist Hospital; University College Hospital, Oyo; USUMH (Borno); Federal Medical Centre, Katsina; and GH Kagarko (Kaduna).

Others include FMC (Owerri); DLHMH (Cross River); FMCG (Zamfara); Sobi IDH (Kwara); NASIDARC (Nasarawa); YDMH Genexpert (Kaduna); GH Takum (Taraba); Mobile Truck GX (Kaduna); GH Saminaka (Kaduna); O2 (Lagos); FMC Bida (Niger); NVRI (Plateau); ABU, (Kaduna); JUTH (Plateau); YDMSH, (Kaduna); FMC Birnin Kebbi, (Kebbi);UNTH (Enugu);MOGID, (Bauchi); BML (Bayelsa); GH Ikara (Kaduna); Warri Lab (Delta); Delta Mobile Lab (Delta);GAGH (Kaduna);FMC Makurdi (Benue);FMCJ (Taraba);BDTH (Kaduna); and SEZTBRL Amachara (Abia).

While the centre did not indicate whether the testing centres will be sanctioned, it said it was intensifying its COVID-19 response with “Ongoing data collection on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness study in collaboration with National Primary Health Care Development Agency and the World Health Organisation” among others.