By Akinwale Kasali
The Lagos State Government, through the State’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, on Thursday, disclosed that it has spent, at least, N800 million in conducting 16,000 COVID-19 tests in the state.
Abayomi stated this while briefing newsmen on COVID-19 weekly situation report, held at the Press Centre, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.
Responding to questions from newsmen he said each COVID-19 test cost between N40,000 to N50,000, while 16,000 tests have been conducted so far, fully, all expenses paid by the state government.
He added that the LASG have so far performed 16,000 COVID-19 tests in Lagos, which is higher than anywhere else in Nigeria.
“We are planning to test up to about 1,000 people per day, very soon, in the next month or two we are going to be ramping up our capacity to test.
“For now, the government is providing testing free of charge and the government pays about N40,000 to N50,000 per test.
“But as we ramp up our testing we are going to try and use some means of subsidy for the test, either through insurance or through some contributions from donors or from development partners to help us to subsidize the test.
“For now the state government is providing COVID-19 testing free of charge and all citizens who need to be tested for COVID-19 either because they are not feeling well or had a close contact can get it done free of charge at any of our COVID-19 testing sites on the four laboratories,” the commissioner said.
Abayomi said the State government was in the process of conducting clinical trial on hydroxychloroquine and “with the solidarity trial the state is participating in, two months from now we (Lagos) should get information on the drug either as preventive or cure.”
The government listed some of the centres where the hydroxy Chloroquine trials would be conducted with consideration for various dietary supplements that can boost or improve the immune system to resist the virus.
According to Abayomi, the spike in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lagos was due to the increase in its testing capacity.
“The state government has decentralised sample collection centres with about 20 sample collection sites across the metropolis,” he stated.
In order to ramp up testing, the state government has concluded plans to integrate the concept of home-based care of COVID 19, even as he urged residents to be available for test, and warned against stigmatisation of COVID-19 patients.
As part of preventive measures against the spread of the virus, citizens were urged by the Health Commissioner to always use standard face masks in the public always, and in the event of exhibiting any symptom, they should quickly, present themselves early for treatment.
The deaths recorded were attributed to late reports, but it noted that though, Lagos and Kano have the same demography, Lagos was recording more cases of COVID-19 because it was doing more testing than Kano.
“While Lagos has four testing laboratories running for almost three months now and doing three shifts, Kano has just one laboratory which is yet to properly kick-off because of some initial teething problems,” Abayomi was quoted.
Nigerians are, however, querying the rationale behind the huge sum the LASG claimed it has spent.
Some Social Commentators queried how the 16,000 people were picked with Covid-19 tests done on them, and the LASG should be bold and magnanimous enough to bring out the people that they carried the test on.
It also asked how a Covid-19 test could cost that much.
