New Telegraph

Lagos pushes for COVID-19 status as requirement for employment, school enrolement, others

Muritala Ayinla Lagos State government has said that residents may be compelled to present COVID-19 test to confirm status periodically by banks, industries and others as part of the requirements for returning to work.

Its Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi said COVID-19 status certification was part of regulatory requirements for selected industries like the food and beverage industry, local & international travel requirements, requirements for resuming school and admission into hospital.

 

Besides, he said the state government has approved between N40, 000 and N50, 000 as cost of COVID-19 test in private laboratories to boost the state’s testing capacity, saying that the demand for COVID-19 test in the state would exceed 4,000 daily following rising cases of community transmission in the local governments.

 

Speaking during inclusion of the public private consortium into the management of the pandemic in the state, Abayomi said there was a need to expand testing, especially in areas most affected by community transmission of the virus.

 

He listed the private laboratories for the management of COVID-19 screening and tests as Total Medical Services, SynLab, 54 Gene, Medbury medical Services, Biologix Medical Services, 02 Medical Services and Clina Lancent Laboratories in its testing strategy to expand the testing capacity of the state.

 

Abayomi said: “We expect demand for tests from the following industries, individuals in the informal sector, banking and finance, manufacturing, food & beverages, schools, aviation industry, fast moving consumer goods, hospitality amongst others. “Based on the projected cumulative demand from the above, we believe that demand for COVID-19 tests could exceed 4,000 per day in the next six months. “We recognise the need to expand our testing, especially to the local government areas that are most affected by the community transmission of the virus and as Lagos State continuously manages the public crises caused by COVID-19, it simultaneously attempts to open up various aspects of its economy.

 

Both effortsmakeitimperativethat COVID19testsarewidelyavailableto membersof thepublic. “In a bid to ramp up our testing capacity, we have taken a strategic decision to include private laboratories in the testing of COVID19. “However, the State’s COVID19 response will remain a centrally managed emergency response by the State Government and the need to test will be surveillance driven and based on a clear case definition.”

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