News
CORONAVIRUS: Expand virus test capacity, Virologist charges Nigerian govt
A Jos based Virologist, Dr. Solomon Chollom, has charged the Federal Government of Nigeria led by President Mohammadu Buhari to expand coronavirus test capacity to help manage the spread of the disease in the country.
Chollom who made the call appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, was reacting to the revelation by the Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, that it was in search of over 5,000 contacts across the country.
According to Chollom, Nigeria with an estimated population of about 200 million people cannot rely on the seven testing centers in the country, especially with rising infections already recorded.
He said; “So far, it will be convenient to say that less than two per cent of Nigerians have been tested for the virus. This is not good in a pandemic of the magnitude we are currently experiencing.
READ ALSO: Fintiri signs COVID-19 restriction order into law
“Also, in view of widespread complaints, it appears that only elites in Nigeria are currently having access to the test.
“Some people have lamented how they have had to try, without success, to test themselves or relatives for the virus due to pressure on the few testing centres,” Chollom added.
He said that Nigeria should ordinarily have testing centres in all states of the federation to increase the accessibility of Nigerians for the test for the purpose of ensuring that every infected person was attended to.
“If China could build a 1,000-bed capacity hospital in a week in the midst of the outbreak, Nigeria can as well build or equip more hospitals within one week to beat this virus down,” Chollom noted.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...