A Polymerase Claim Reaction (PCR) laboratory built by the Akwa Ibom State government for the testing of Covid-19 samples has been approved by the Nigerian Center for Disease Control, NCDC.
The PCR lab located at the 300-bed isolation centre at Ituk Mbang in Uruan local government will curb the stress of taking the state’s covid-19 samples to other states for testing.
Bamidele Oluwafemi, the leader of the NCDC delegation told the Chairman of COVID-19 Management Committee and Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem during a visit that the PCR lab was one of the best in the country.
Oluwafemi said his team had inspected the facility and trained personnel at the isolation centre on how to carry out COVID-19 test and interpret results, adding that everything at the centre was up to the required standard.
The NCDC team leader lauded the state government for building the isolation centre from scratch without the support of the Federal government, unlike other states.
He the facility will not only serve the purpose of containing the spread of COVID-19, but other viral diseases in the state unlike what is obtainable in some states of the federation where some old buildings are being converted into isolation centres.
He, however, recommended that some relevant section of the Ituk Mbang isolation centre be demarcated to ensure smooth service delivery.
He said with the activation and approval of the laboratory, sample testing of suspected COVID-19 infected persons would commence in a few days
