From Victor Akinkuolie Ado-Ekiti

As part of the effort at increasing its testing capacity, the Ekiti state  government has taken delivery of its mobile molecular laboratory which is currently being set up at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti.

The move was announced by the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr (Mrs) Mojisola Yaya-Kolade during a press briefing and update on the activities of the State Covid-19 Taskforce in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday.

She disclosed that the molecular laboratory was purchased from the donations received by the State Covid-19 Response Resource Mobilisation Committee set up by  the State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

The committee was set up to mobilise and manage funds and projects in the government’s battle to contain the coronavirus.

While revealing that the State Government had successfully screened 177 suspected cases of Covid-19, according to the testing guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC), Yaya-Kolade said setting up of the laboratory would allow for random testing of people living in the state.

Governor Fayemi had on Saturday tweeted that, ‘the Covid-19 mobile lab would be fully equipped with vital testing instruments and biosafety materials to support COVID -19 testing.”

Dr Yaya-Kolade said: “Currently Ekiti has five COVID-19 patient, four of them are at the isolation centre while the fifth case is an elderly man at one of the State tertiary institutions. He is stable, improving and better. We are co-managing the tertiary institution.

“The Molecular lab is owned by Ekiti State and it is being set up as we speak. Once we are done with the setting up,  it would be used for screening of the populace for COVID-19, there will be sampling of the general public to know the prevalence of COVID-19 in our community.”

Also speaking , the Coordinator of the State Covid-19 Taskforce, Prof. Bolaji Aluko warned that the State government would not hesitate to close down any market that disregard hygenic procedures, violate social distance orders and the use of nose  mask.

Responding to agitations by some donors whose name were missing on the advertised list of donors, Prof Aluko assured that the matter would be looked into and an  updated version would be made available to the public.

He said an audit report of the Resource Mobilization Accounts, detailing how the fund realised was utilised, would be made available to the public in line with the administration’s policy of transparency and accountability.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr Gbenga Agbeyo also announced that the State Government had extended its fumigation exercise beyond the State capital to other senatorial districts of the State to slow down the possible spread of the infection.