The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, has said that Nigerians will soon be able to get their COVID-19 tests themselves.
Ihekweazu made this known at the Saturday Presidential Task Force Press Briefing in Abuja where he said that the major issue why tests results were delayed was due to the complicated process of getting results across to the people.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu
According to him, Nigeria has tested over 200,000 people but the process of communicating the results has always been a major hitch in the process, not the testing itself.
Ihekweazu said, “We have done over 200,000 COVID-19 tests nationwide and most people get their test on time.
“The major factor driving the delay is not in the testing; it is in the process of getting the results to individuals. We have thought of various models and we don’t want to bye-pass the states because they are the custodians of the public health response and if we do that for this disease, it will then be difficult to define when to stop.”
According to him, the agency is working on new communication platforms where Nigerians will get their results first-hand.
He explained, “What we are trying to do now is to use technology. Last week, we mentioned that we have been working on a new platform and in a few weeks, people would be able to check their new results themselves. That platform is nearly ready and that will provide a solution at least for people to get a result of the test they have had.”
Ihekweazu explained that delaying tests results was not very common with laboratories.
The NCDC DG said, “There are very few reasons why delay could have been possible. Yes, things happen. For instance, in Ebonyi State, we have had to shut down the laboratory for a few days to decontaminate the laboratory. There are unique circumstances where testing is delayed because of an event, but it is very unlikely that a laboratory that is working will delay results for three weeks. So there must be something specific that happened in that case.
“I do think that we will continue improving over time and we have improved a lot, we will keep working hard at it to make sure that every Nigerian has a better impression and experience of the work going on across the country.”

