Following the rise in the number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Nigeria, the Lagos State government has revealed plans to begin a house-to-house search to identify those suspected to be infected with the virus.
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Said to be in phases, the Lagos State Ministry of Health said, in a statement, that the exercise, tagged the ‘Community Active Case Search,’ will last for two weeks in the first lap and would cover all the 20 local government areas in the state.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has dismissed claims by critics of the 15-man Chinese medical team to Nigeria. This following widespread talks that the medical supplies they brought from China were contaminated with the virus and could aggravate the pandemic in the country if used.
As part of their contributions towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been on the rise since the index case happened on February 27, the Federal Government had taken possession of the $1.3 million worth of medical equipment and consumables from a group of Chinese companies in Nigeria.
But the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has opposed the presence of the team and the alleged moves by doctors among them to treat patients in Nigeria, saying it undermines Nigeria’s sovereignty.
The Federal Ministry of Health has, in the meantime, assured that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, would ensure the quality of all the medical supplies from China.
Currently, Lagos has 158 of the 288 confirmed cases in the country. Data from the NCDC shows that there are 14 new cases of COVID-19 in the country with 13 coming from Lagos.
However, seven more COVID-19 patients were discharged from the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, putting the number of treated and virus-free patients in the state to 39. 51 of the infected have been discharged and seven deaths recorded nationwide.
