Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC), says the only way to understand the scale of COVID-19
is by testing.
He had earlier said Kogi, Yobe and Cross River, the three
states yet to record any case of COVID-19, had not sent in enough samples for
tests.
Kogi government had dismissed his comments, describing it as
unfair and an attempt to shame the state.
The state also said it was already using a self-assessment
app for checking for COVID-19 cases in the state.
But reacting at the presidential task force briefing on
Wednesday, Ihekweazu said viruses are not written on the forehead and only
tests could show if anyone is infected.
“I won’t join issues with any executive governor of any
state in Nigeria. I think I have made my position very clear yesterday. My role
is to interpret the evidence the best way we can. This is not only about
COVID-19, when we urge people to go for HIV testing, it is because nobody has
written HIV on his forehead,” he said.
“The only way you can know whether you have this virus in
the early days is to get tested. The way we talk about it, we’ve had the
largest number of Lassa fever cases in Nigeria ever. We have it because we’ve
become more aware, we are testing more and we are finding more.
“The only way we can understand the scale of COVID-19 is by
testing. So, it’s really not a controversial issue, everybody has agreed on
that fact, we are pushed everyday to test more. I don’t think my comments were
controversial, my role is to continue supporting every state in Nigeria with
labs, opportunities to test.
“Most states in Nigeria are asking us, pushing us; how do I
get a lab, how do I test more people and we will continue to do this on behalf
of every state.”
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