15th April, 2020
By Adejoke Adeleye
The Ogun State Government on Wednesday said it has acquired a Molecular Laboratory as part efforts towards flattening the curve of Coronavirus pandemic in the state.
The state is also working on reviewing relaxation windows for people of the State during the 14-day lockdown extension recently ordered by the Federal Government.
In a statement on Wednesday, Governor Dapo Abiodun said the Molecular Laboratory would be unveiled during the period of the lockdown at the Olabisi Onabanjo University University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, where finishing touches were being put for its operationalisation.
The Governor had, while declaring open two Isolation Centres in the State, promised to establish a biomedical laboratory so that tests of suspected cases in the State could be done without going to Lagos, Ede or Abuja.
When unveiled, it will minimise the test turn-around time which currently is between 3-5 days and fast-track the handling of positive cases.
It will also reduce the period of apprehension and anxiety for those suspected of infection and their relations.
A molecular laboratory test is essential in the checks for certain genes, proteins, or other molecules in a sample of tissue, blood, or other body fluid and central in the detection and handling of the Coronavirus.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), there are five laboratories in the Country with the capacity to test for COVID-19 – located in Lagos (2), Ede in Osun State, Edo and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Ogun will be the first State to set up its independent laboratory for the diagnosis of the Coronavirus.