Akin Abayomi, the commissioner for health in Lagos, says
coronavirus is now circulating on community basis within the state.
He spoke at a press conference on Monday, while responding
to a question on efforts to scale up testing capacity.
According to him, testing capacity in Lagos is increasing
but still relatively slow when compared to the United States and Europe.
“We have been increasing our testing capacity in line with
the strategy to try and identify as many people in the communities with
COVID-19, which is one of our strategies,” he said.
“Last week or the week before the last, we tested a total of
400 samples and this immediate past week, that testing capacity went up from
400 to 1400, demonstrating a very dramatic increase in our capacity to test and
we can go even further.
“We’re hoping to run at least two to three thousand tests in
the coming week as we embark on the active case search in the community; of
course, as we test more we’re likely to see more positivity.
“We already know that the virus is circulating in the community,
and the more we look for it, the more we will find but that is in keeping with
our strategy.”
He said the state expects to see a rise in the number of
COVID-19 cases, but expressed optimism that preventive measures in place would
contain the spread of the virus.
“The more people we can bring into our isolation facilities
who have been identified as positive COVID-19, the less the virus can spread,
the flatter the curve will be and the more capacity we’ll be able to throw at
this outbreak,” he said.
“At the same time in Europe and in the United States, at the
same time from their index case, Europe and America has seen thousands and
thousands of cases.
“We are still around the 500 mark which indicates that our
curve, even though it’s growing gradually, is very flat; it hasn’t kicked.
“We expect more cases, but it’s a rise in cases that’s the
important factor; we want a gentle slope and not a steep slope.”
He added that the Lagos strategies in relation to isolation
of persons with coronavirus, the containment of the disease, the imposition of
social distancing order and active case search “seem to be paying off.”
As of April 19, 2020, Lagos had recorded 376 confirmed
COVID-19 cases, of which 98 persons had been discharged. Nigeria currently has
572 Cases of COVID-19.
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