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Fred Ezeh, Abuja
There are indications that the Federal Government has approved that former ThisDay Dome, Abuja, be converted to an isolation centre due to the rising number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Abuja.
Also included in the approval for use as isolation centres in Abuja, include, DSS Guest House, Agura Hotel and Abuja Women Centre.
Minister of State for Health Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, confirmed the conversion of the ThisDay Dome and all Federal Government-owned stadia to isolation centres, adding that the Presidential Task Force on the control of COVID-19 had visited the locations, assessed the facilities and given their approval.
He added: “We now have over 700-bed space isolation centre in Abuja. They include DSS Guesthouse (200-bed space), National Women Centre (160-bed space), Agura Hotel (300-bed space) and ThisDay Dome (400-bed space).”
He also confirmed that, expectedly, seven more laboratories would be added to existing ones to fasten the testing for COVID-19.
He said: “We project that in three weeks time, seven more molecular laboratories located in Abakaliki, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt, and Sokoto would be added to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) laboratory network to further expand testing capacity nationwide.”
The FCT Administration had a few years ago taken over the ThisDay Dome property from the publishers of Thisday Newspaper in compliance with a Court of Appeal judgment over a N197 million debt.
