138 corps members test positive for COVID-19 —NCDC

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chike Ihekweazu, on Monday said a total of 138 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) had tested positive for COVID-19.

Ihekweazu disclosed this during the briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, adding that the safe reopening of the NYSC orientation camps across the country was successful.

According to him, none of those who tested positive was allowed into the camps.

He said: “A total of 34,785 corps members and members of the camp communities have been tested so far in the last weeks of which only 138 was found positive, which is 0.4 per cent prevalence and 1 in 200 people.”

READ ALSO: NYSC dismisses report of COVID-19 infections in Bauchi orientation camp

Ihekweazu further stated that those who tested positive were either managed at home or in a treatment centre depending on if they had symptoms and what state they were in.

Continuing, the NCDC DG said the next challenge would be how to work with education stakeholders to ensure safe reopening of the universities.

“Universities have proven to be slightly risky; it has its unique challenges but we are confident that we can address this as we have done in other sectors like aviation,” Ihekweazu said.

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