Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, has raised alarm about the increasing sales of COVID-19 diagnostic rapid test kits in ‘black markets’.
Speaking at the Presidential Task Force briefing on Thursday in Abuja, Ihekweazu warned those who are desperate for COVID-19 test to be careful.
According to him, some organisations are selling ‘antibody tests’.
He therefore warned that such ‘antibody tests’ could not give valid COVID-19 results.
The NCDC DG also advised companies, seeking to test their employees before they resume work, to be cautious while purchasing the diagnostic test kits.
He said;
It is important that as we open our industries, we really think about the measures that we advise everyone to carry out and leave testing for the purpose for which it is there.
There is a growing black market on rapid diagnostics test kits in Nigeria, we have to be careful in what we buy, how we use it and how we interpret the results that they provide.
Ihekweazu also disclosed that the private-sector coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has donated N47 million to support sample transportation to boost testing.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Thursday announced that some hospitals’ refusal to treat Nigerians with other ailments is causing more death than COVID-19.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) COVID-19 and Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, made this known at the PTF daily briefing in Abuja.
He also lamented that federal tertiary hospitals are in the forefront of rejecting patients.
Mustapha stated;
The PTF has received rather sadly, reports of continued refusal by medical institutions to receive and treat patients for fear of COVID-19.
This has resulted in several unfortunate and avoidable fatalities. And statistics have shown that there is a drastic drop in the attention being paid to other ailments not related to COVID-19.
He assured that;
The Minister of Health has reached out to all medical directors, directing them to continue providing regular medical services, so we do not end up with avoidable deaths.
According to him, there are more deaths from non-attendance to other diseases than from COVID-19.
