Going against NCDC advice, Kogi conducts its own COVID-19 tests, declares 111 persons negative

The Kogi State government said Tuesday 111 suspected COVID-19 cases in the state had tested negative for the disease.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communication Strategy, Kingsley Fanwo, who disclosed this in a statement in Lokoja, however said the tests were conducted on the suspected cases without the supervision of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The NCDC has continuously discouraged independent testing using procured rapid testing kits as they were prone to false results.

According to him, the testing kits procured by the state government were used to conduct the tests and that those tested for the virus were picked randomly.

Fanwo said: “Kogi State got testing kits independently but followed NCDC guidelines.

“At least 111 COVID-19 rapid tests were conducted in Kogi State yesterday and all results came out negative.”

The commissioner noted that the state is still COVID-19-free.

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Kogi and Cross River are the only states in the country without a single case of COVID-19 infection.

“We shall not go to streets to pick people to be tested for COVID-19, but in hospitals where people with similar symptoms are found and also based on any information of suspected cases,” he concluded.

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