The Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Amaku, Awka, Anambra State has been approved as one of the COVID-19 testing centres by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
This was a sequel to the Federal Government determination to increase the number of testing centres by making use of institutions that have required equipment across the country.
The approval was contained in an NCDC document titled National Strategy to Scale Up Access to coronavirus disease testing in Nigeria, published on April 15, 2020.
According to the document, the federal ministry of health through NCDC has prioritised testing as one of the key strategies to the COVID-19 response in Nigeria and in order to contain the outbreak, the government has decided to rapidly scale diagnostic centres to cover all the 36 states and Abuja.
The document further added that by 14 of April 2020, Nigeria has only 12 functional testing facilities in eight states with the capacity to conduct minimal of 1500 tests per day in Lagos and 1000 tests per day in Abuja and others.
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The document further said that in order to characterise the outbreak and understand the transmission of COVID-19, more people need to be tested, noting that to achieve good results, means leveraging on capacities and assets from others national disease programmes for efficiency.
Speaking on the development, the Chief Medical Director of the Teaching Hospital, Dr Basil Nwankwo, who confirmed the approval told Tribune Online in Awka, yesterday, that the teaching hospital has the requisite facilities to work and ensure that the pandemic is contained.
He said: “Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku has been designated for COVID-19 testing centre and they will do all within their capacity to support in the fight against the spread of the pandemic in the state,” he said.
He noted that the governor of the state, Chief Willie Obiano, was desirous of making sure that the centre begins operation immediately.
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