Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Thursday, confirmed that relevant officials of the Federal Ministry of Health have commenced virtual meetings and learning from the Chinese doctors who are currently on the mandatory 14 days isolation.
A Chinese construction company based in Nigeria, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), facilitated the arrival of the 15 Chinese healthcare officials that comprises of medical doctors, nurses and other health care professionals last week to assist Nigeria fight coronavirus.
Ehanire, in a tweet, on Thursday, said, “we have commenced virtual interactions and learning on COVID-19 from the CCECC-sponsored medical experts that recently arrived in Nigeria to help contain the spread of COVlD-l9.
“We are grateful to the Nigerian government and US-CDC for their support. We also thank Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) for their support and pledge to position medical and critical care specialists.”
The minister, however, confirmed that Nigeria now has the capacity to test 1,500 COVID-19 samples daily in its laboratories that are strategically located across the country.
He added: “Community transmission marks the evolution of our initial containment strategy to detect early, test and isolate. To this end, health workers should be on the alert and safely refer patients.”
He reconfirmed that University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada, Abuja, and National Hospital, Abuja, are the three designated isolation facilities in Abuja.
“Nigerians are encouraged to report to these accredited centres for best chances of survival and recovery. They should also trust scientifically-proven advisories and ignore fake news. Together, we shall get control of COVID-19,” he added.