Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Ekiti State Government has said its recently inaugurated molecular laboratory has been accredited and authorised to commence testing for COVID-19 infection.
Also, the state is to initiate a pilot test among healthcare professionals who were at the frontline of battling the coronavirus.
Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, made this known in Ado-Ekiti during a press briefing on the activities of the COVID-19 task force.
She said the laboratory, which is situated at the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti (EKSUTH), has been accredited and authorised to be put to use by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other relevant agencies in the country
The laboratory testing, according to the commissioner, would serve as surveillance on the prevalence of the infection in the 16 local government areas of the state.
Yaya-Kolade said the testing would start with health workers who were at the frontline of tackling the infection.
Speaking on reopening of worship centres, the commissioner said the state government would base its decision on scientific reports available to it, the trend of things in the neighbouring states, and the readiness of worship centres to comply with the modalities that would be put in place.
She said: “Churches are still closed in Ekiti State, because decision will be made based on what is going on in the surrounding states. We are observing what is going on, we are considering scientific evidence, we are going to start doing our surveillance.
“The laboratory test would be the surveillance of the whole communities and as we discussed in our meeting with the committee set up on re-opening of worship centres, we don’t want to open and close again like some states are doing.”