Ogun State had discharged six persons from isolation facility, as the Governor announced the good news on Thursday 16th April 2020.
The Governor, Governor Dapo Abiodun who made this known, said the six persons were discharged after they each twice tested negative to the COVID-19, out of the 9 total confirmed cases across the State. He said; “Of all 6 discharged persons, 3 were discharged between Wednesday, 15th April 2020 and today, Thursday, 16th April. This leaves 3 active cases we are currently handling in the State.
The test-and-trace strategy we have adopted has so far yielded the identification of 210 contacts of suspected patients, and we have discharged 110 who were observed within 14 days under quarantine, leaving 100 persons under observation.
To further enhance such response, we have installed the first State-fully funded molecular laboratory in the Country in addition to our working on the ownership of another molecular lab, and they will become operational after accreditation by the @ncdcgov, increasing our daily testing capacity to 1,000 per day. These laboratories will function so effectively, because we are also setting up testing booths in high-risk border areas around Lagos, and also mobile labs that will move around communities hosting patients so far confirmed, for possible close contacts, in areas including Ota, Ifo, Obafe and Sagamu.
I see hope ahead. Ogun people, your wellbeing and safety matter to me.
Together, let’s stay home. Let’s stay safe. May our efforts never fail,” he added.
The Governor before announcing the latest development in the state, thanked the people for the level of cooperation, compliance and support received from all angles during the lockdown. He said:
“I am delighted to announce that our molecular laboratory is set to be open for operations, requiring only final touches for maximum operation.
The laboratory will reduce the overall duration of tests and result provision for suspected #COVID19 patients whose samples we have so far had to take to neighbouring states, leaving the patients and their families anxious for results.
I also want to clarify that we are currently reviewing, for the 14-day lockdown extension, the windows we earlier allowed for the first phase of the lockdown to allow essential activities. This implies that while we will soon disclose the result of our review for the coming weeks, the 7am-2pm window will be observed on Friday, the 17th.
If we continue to maintain distancing and hygiene measures, our landmark molecular laboratory would surely make its impact in our response, testing and handling abilities,” he said.