From Francis Nansak ,Lafia
As part of efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in Nasarawa state, the government has concluded plans to begin the testing of its civil servants for the virus.
The director, Public Health in the state ministry of health, Dr Ibrahim Adamu, made this known while fielding questions from newsmen on Friday in Lafia, the state capital.
Ibrahim Adamu said that the state government was committed to ensuring the containment of the pandemic in the state.
According to him, all the staff in the department of public health, directly involved in the fight against the virus have been tested.
“Our strategy now is that every civil servant in the state should have the opportunity of being tested, and that is what we want to do going forward,” he said, explaining further that the modality is being worked out for sample collection from civil servants in the various ministries beginning from next week.
Adamu also said that, though samples from the state were being taken to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Reference Laboratory in Abuja, that would soon change as molecular laboratories were being set up in Lafia and Keffi Local Government Areas.
He said that so far, 3,652 persons have been tested for COVID-19 in the state with 443 confirmed cases, while 24 results were pending.
The Director disclosed that so far 13 persons had died from COVID-19 complications in the state while 66 others with confirmed cases were receiving home care.
