Sanwo-Olu: COVID-19 tests from public labs unusable for travels

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos state, says COVID-19 tests from public health facilities cannot be used for travel purposes.

Sanwo-Olu, while providing an update on the COVID-19 situation in the state on Sunday, said outbound an inbound travellers should make use of the 21 private laboratories accredited by the Lagos state government for COVID-19 testing. 

“Anyone wishing to test as a requirement for either outbound or inbound travel or other work-related requirements must do so at any of the 21 private laboratories accredited by Lagos State for COVID testing,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Here are highlights of Sanwo-Olu COVID-19 update.

LAGOS FINALISING ITS OWN VACCINE STRATEGY 

The governor said the state is finalising its own vaccine strategy, aside the federal government’s arrangement for vaccines. 

He said frontline workers, people who are medically vulnerable, essential workers and old people would be considered when vaccines become available in the state. 

“At the moment the State Government is finalizing its own vaccine strategy; while at the same time keeping a close eye on ongoing vaccine research, development and clinical trials. It is also in constant engagement with all the relevant stakeholders in that space, in the public and private sectors,” the governor said. 

TheCable had reported that Nigeria secured 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX facility, which is co-led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and GAVI Alliance. The vaccines were earlier expected in January but will now be delivered to the country in February. 

Nigeria has also secured additional 41 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), a vaccine strategy organised by the African Union.

ONE IN FOUR TESTS RETURNED POSITIVE

The governor said the test positivity ratio for January 2021 is 24 percent, which means that one out of every four tests returned positive. He said it is the highest monthly average recorded in the past six months. 

Sanwo-Olu said 21 private and four public laboratories have been accredited for COVID-19 testing.

OXYGEN IS FREE IN LAGOS COVID-19 TREATMENT CENTRES 

The governor said the use of oxygen in the state COVID-19 treatment centres is free of charge. 

He said the demand for oxygen in the state treatment centers has spiked to 300 and 400 cylinders per day. 

MODERATE FEE OPTION IN GBAGADA ISOLATION CENTRE 

The governor said the state-owned Gbagada isolation center will now charge a moderate fee to treat COVID-19 patients, adding that the fee will be lower than that of private treatment centres. 

He said the COVID-19 treatment facility in Yaba will continue to offer free and high-quality treatment to all persons. 

CLINICAL TRIAL OF IVERMECTIN IN LAGOS 

The governor said the state will carry out a clinical trial of Ivermectin to ascertain its efficacy in preventing and treating COVID-19 infection in Lagos. 

He said though Ivermectin has not been approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in the country, the state has taken a bold step to acquire adequate stocks of the drug.