By Asmau Ahmad
Nigeria has over 100 public and private laboratories across all the 36 states of the country for the testing of COVID-19, from just two National Reference Laboratories at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Lagos, said centres were also built in collaboration with states and the private sector to isolate and treat cases of COVID-19.
He said the Federal Government, through the Sustainable Production Pillar of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, had been encouraging local manufacturing companies to embark on the production of consumables.
The minister said local manufacturing companies were specifically encouraged to embark on production of face masks, ventilators, hand sanitisers and face shields.
To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy across all levels, the minister said the government unveiled the Economic Sustainability Plan to support families, small and medium enterprises and the manufacturing sector among others.
He said with the resurgence of the pandemic, President Muhammadu Buhari had extended the mandate of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 until the end of March, 2021.
He said the extension of the PTF mandate was as a result of the new surge in the number of cases of infected persons and the bid for vaccines.
The minister, who is also a member of PTF, gave an assurance of the administration’s untiring efforts to tame the pandemic and protect Nigerians.
Lai Mohammed recalled that the Federal Government had launched an onslaught against the novel coronavirus which was imported into the country in February 2020.
He said the government mobilised all sectors and segments of the country for a sectoral approach to interrupt the transmission of the virus and curtail mortality.
According to him, the approach included expanding health infrastructure, building the capacity of health workers and mounting aggressive public sensitisation and community mobilisation against the spread of the virus.
He said the country had so far performed creditably well in the fight against COVID-19 through the deployment of resources, mobilisation and training of manpower and expansion of health infrastructure.
