The MedicaI and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) on Friday alerted that Kwara State lacks testing laboratory for any outbreak of dangerous, infectious diseases such as Coronavirus or Civid-19.
Stella Filani, medical practitioner and the National Auditor and Kwara State Chairman of MDCAN stated an interview with some journalists on the recent outbreak of the virus in Lagos by an Italian man working in Nigeria.
Filani, disclosed that samples of any dangerous diseases are taken to Lagos or Abuja for testing and diagnosis, adding that they have to wait for five to six days to get results.
She says: “Our level of preparedness is low, a lot has to be done, however Consultants in the state have the pre-requisite training to contain the scourge.
“Up until yesterday, we were not confirmed with the Covid-19. All hands must therefore be on deck to contain such outbreak.”
Filani stresses that government at all levels must put in place the necessary provisions in the isolation centres and step up retraining manpower in management of patient and also provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Also speaking, Adebayo Mohammed MDCAN chairman of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), equally attested that there is no lab testing facility for dangerous diseases in Kwara.
He observes that “we are not adequately prepared in the state; we hope the Federal Ministry of Health will brace up and contain this outbreak.”
Mohammed, however, advised people to avoid crowded areas and increase hand washing with soaps, while maintaining distance of about 2.5 metres of anyone with symptoms realised in people, such as coughing, sneezing.
The MDCAN Unilorin boss also counsel people to wear masks and be courteous about shaking hands with other people, as he warns against touching the eyes and picking the nose without washing hands.
In China, the epicentre of the deadly disease, the National Health Commission reported on Friday that at least 44 new coronavirus deaths, bringing to 2,788 the number of fatalities nationwide.
Coronavirus has killed more than 2,800 people and infected about 83,000 worldwide.
