Coronavirus: Over 2,000 Persons Have Been Tested – Health Minister

The Minister for Health, Dr Osagie Ohanire, has announced that over 2,000 persons have been tested so far for the COVID-19 disease in the country.

Ehanire, who spoke during a live briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja on Wednesday, said Lagos State had led the way in providing bed space capacity for isolation and treatment, adding that other state governments needed to follow suit.

“This week, two more laboratories were added to the NCDC network of molecular laboratories for COVID-19 at University College Hospital Ibadan and Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State,” the minister further stated.

According to Dr Ehanire, a breakdown of the cases shows that about 70% of them are male while about 30% of them are female.

“The age range is mostly between 30 and 60 years but I must be quick to stress that both men and women of all ages can be infected,” he added.

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health is using the window of opportunity of the lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun, to accelerate activities to detect, isolate and treat cases.

“This is important because our ability to achieve the objectives in these states and the FCT will largely define our success in slowing the spread of the infection in our country,” he said.

A critical factor, however, will be the cooperation of members of the public and their adherence to the stay-at-home order especially in the areas under lockdown.

By so doing, “you would have contributed to the efforts to put this under control and return to our normal activities” the minister said.

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