We Are Testing The Right People, Not Playing Number Games – NCDC Boss

The Director-General (DG) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, on Thursday said the strategy currently being employed in testing Nigerians for COVID-19 is ethical as only the right set of people are being tested.

Ihekweazu also reacted to critics who are comparing a number of people tested in Nigeria to other countries by stressing that COVID-19 testing is not a game of numbers.

The NCDC boss said this on Thursday while responding to questions at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

“We have a very good strategy for testing. Yes, the numbers are being thrown at us, Ghana, South Africa and other countries but we are not playing a numbers game.

“These are human beings. Before you test anyone we go through a process to ensure that is appropriate to test the persons.

“We have a strategy and we will stick with that strategy and make sure we deliberately increase the number of testing while testing the right people at the right time,” he said.

The NCDC boss however guaranteed that the testing capacity will be scaled up even though the numbers have increased in the past weeks.

“Up till recently we had about 5,000 tests but in the last week we have gone up from 5,000 to 10,000 and we are going to continue scaling up our testing.

“I think there will be a change in the numbers but to be honest I am not playing a numbers game with testing,” Ihekweazu said.

Nigeria currently has 873 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The number is on the rise due to increased testing conducted by the NCDC, daily.