…Says new laboratories underutilised; recommends use of face masks

…Adds, 92% of contacts traced, as Nigeria now conducts 1,500 tests daily

…We’re in talks with Rivers govt over Caverton Helicopter pilots – Aviation Minister

By Omeiza Ajayi

The Federal Government said yesterday that Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, was not conducting enough test because it was best to do the test when a patient is symptomatic.

It also noted that laboratories that were recently opened in the country were under-utilized but recommended use of face mask as an effective way of staving off the virus.

The government also said it had successfully traced about 92 percent of targeted contacts since the lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states was proclaimed by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 29, as part of emergency regulations to halt the spread of the virus.

Vanguard had reported yesterday that the NCDC was underfire from stakeholders in the health, including the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, and some Nigerians for its inability to conduct enough test as was being done in other African countries, such as South Africa, Ghana and Egypt, among others.

Speaking at a briefing of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 in Abuja yesterday, National Coordinator of the Taskforce, Dr Sani Aliyu, said newly-opened laboratories in the country were currently underutilized, explaining that random tests were not being conducted because it was better to test symptomatic persons to get accurate results.

He said: “On the issue of testing, I know there has been a lot in the press recently. Part of the reason we have not proceeded as fast as we can is the demand as well.

‘’We are not having as much demand for testing in those laboratories that we have activated and I am asking those laboratories, particularly the ones that were activated in the last few days, to please put forward processes that will allow them key in, particularly in areas where there are suspicions of people having COVID-19.

‘’This does not only include people who have had contact or those who have travelled abroad, it also includes persons with unusual respiratory tract infections, particularly severe respiratory tract infections requiring hospitalisation and I will ask that those laboratories that we have activated in the last one week widen their scope when it comes to selection of testing based on our protocols, so we can have more positives identified and isolated.

No room for massive community testing

“There is no room for massive community testing for coronavirus. I would rather do a hundred tests and get 10 positives rather than do 1, 000 tests and get 10 positives. It is all about improving the efficiency of the tests.

‘’It is better to test persons that have symptoms because what we call the pre-test probability is higher. When we talk about incubation period, this is the period between when you get an infection and the time the symptoms happen. And the incubation period is when the virus multiplies in the body and it is not excreted.

‘’If you are in the incubation period, you will not be excreting the virus and the test is looking for the presence of the virus. Therefore, if you do the test during the incubation period which may range from between two, three days and 14 days, the test will be negative.

‘’In other words, you could still be in an incubation period and it will give you a false assurance that everything is alright. That is why we do not recommend doing the tests in the absence of symptoms.

‘’The reason in some cases is that some people might be asymptomatic and still have a positive result, which is extremely rare. This is because a lot of people might have mild symptoms that you will not even notice. This is why we need to do the test at the right time in order to pick up the virus.

“So, we are not going to start doing massive testing in the communities. It will be inefficient, it will be expensive and it is not going to help us increase the number of positives.’’

Also speaking at the briefing, chairman of the Taskforce and Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, said the Federal Government has recommended the use of face masks by Nigerians in order to reduce their susceptibility to infection by the virus.

READ ALSO: COVID-19 Lockdown: Buhari’s declaration requires no legal backing ― APC Govs Forum DG

According to him, Nigerians do not have to resort to using ‘medical-grade’ or surgical masks which are normally discarded after four hours of usage.

He advised that home made masks which were cheap and reusable, would serve the same purpose.

The SGF said government had successfully traced about 92 percent of targeted contacts since the lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states was proclaimed by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 29 as part of emergency regulations to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, adding that no fewer than 6, 700 contacts were being traced as at when the lockdown was declared.

Apparently referring to a Vanguard news report that Nigeria was slow in conducting tests for COVID-19, Mustapha said while government now conducts 1, 500 tests daily, some of its new laboratories in the country were currently underutilized.

He said:  “Since the broadcast of the President on Sunday, March 29, 2020, the Presidential Task Force has slowed down the spread in order not to overwhelm our fragile health system; intensified case identification, testing and isolation.

“Intensified contact listing and isolation – ( 92% of all contacts have been identified); increased laboratories by 100%- (Lagos -3; Abuja-2; Irua-1; Ibadan UCH-1; Iree-1; Jos-1; Kano-1; Abakaliki-1) there are now 11 laboratories in the network; increased testing by 50%, to the current capacity of 1,500 tests per day, with over 6,000 tests done.

‘’Procurement concluded for new high throughput testing by end of the month; distributed Personal Protective Equipment to over 40,000 healthcare workers – there have been no stockouts; trained over 7,000 healthcare workers on infection prevention and control; deployed NCDC teams to 19 states and more.”

Ehanire on usage of mask

On his part, Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said the usage of mask was not compulsory, but only a recommendation by the Taskforce.

“We said we are recommending; we are not saying it is compulsory. Secondly, we also said it does not have to be hospital-grade mask. It does not have to be medical or surgical-grade. You can make your own and preferably, your mask can be washable.

‘’You can wash it and iron it and reuse. The ones many of us are using here now are single-use which you have to throw away but you do not need that for day to day activities and the purpose of that mask is to shield you and shield your opposite because if anyone is emitting any kind of droplet or particles by way of coughing or sneezing or when people are shouting, laughing or exclaiming, you can capture them through the barrier.

‘’It can even be a scarf you tie across your mouth, so you do not run the risk of transmitting it to someone else. That is why we said it must be washed every evening, preferably in warm water and then dried and ironed.’’

Minister on Calverton pilots

In his remarks at the briefing, Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, who spoke on the face-off between the ministry and Rivers State government, said the Federal Government was currently dialoguing with the state government to effect the release of two pilots of Caverton Helicopters who were last week arrested and remanded at a state facility in Port Harcourt for breaching an Executive Order made by the state governor, Nyesom Wike.

Vanguard