The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced that it has activated two more molecular diagnostic test laboratories to the existing 13 labs in its network for the testing of coronavirus across the country.
The two new labs are located at Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna.
The NCDC made this known on Saturday in a statement via its Twitter handle.
According to the statement, “We’re proud to announce the inclusion of two new labs to the molecular laboratory network for COVID-19 at Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna.
“This brings the number of labs with capacity to test for COVID-19 to 15.”
The other 13 laboratories in the country includes: NCDC National Reference Laboratory and Defence Reference Laboratory in Abuja; Laboratory in LUTH, Lagos State Biosafety Level-3 Laboratory, and Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Lagos; Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo state; and University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Others are; Virology Laboratory of Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki; African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) in Osun State; Influenza Laboratory at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano; DNA lab in Kaduna; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital; and National Veterinary Research Institute, Jos.
Nigeria currently has the capacity to carry out 1,500 COVID-19 tests daily, with 10,431 tests conducted so far.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
