COVID-19: Lagos Battles Shortage Of Reagents, FCT Lacks Test Kits

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday has announced that it was facing scarcity of reagents for COVID-19 tests.

The state Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, divulged this in an interview with The PUNCH, as the Federal Capital Territory disclosed that it was battling a shortage of test kits.

Omotosho in an interview with one of our correspondents said the state only received personal protective equipment and other materials donated by a Chinese billionaire, Jack Ma.

He said, “The state got things from Jack Ma, but not test kits. The PPE and some other materials, not test kits.

“The governor said that the shortage of reagents is a global problem, it is not a Lagos problem. The kind of tests we are conducting in Lagos and in Nigeria is called molecular testing, which experts say is 99.9 per cent correct. The people selling the reagents are now doing as if it is gold. Lagos is looking for ways of working directly with suppliers outside the country.

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“The truth is that Lagos is battling with shortage of reagents, but we will keep on collecting samples.”

The governors had on Monday said 3,000 samples were waiting to be tested in Lagos.

FCT faces shortage of test kits

The FCT Administration also said that it was facing a shortage of test kits for COVID-19.

According to the NCDC, Abuja has 254 persons on admission, 40 discharged and three deaths.

The Special Assistant (Media) to the FCT minister, Abubakar Sani, explained on Tuesday that “The FCT is facing the global challenge of a shortage of test kits.”

He added,” The more kits we get, the more FCTA will perform tests to identify those infected and isolate them.”