The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said on Friday the state government had approved seven private laboratories for COVID-19 testing in the state.
Abayomi, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Lagos, said the decision was taken to ramp up COVID-19 testing in the state.
The commissioner added that seven local government areas – Eti-Osa, Alimosho, Kosofe, Ikeja, Oshodi, Surulere and Lagos Mainland – had the highest number of COVID-19 infections in the state.
He said: “As Lagos continuously attempts to open up various aspects of its economy, it is imperative that COVID-19 tests are widely available to members of the public. In a bid to ramp up its testing capacity, Lagos State government had taken a strategic decision to include private laboratories in the testing of COVID-19.
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“The testing facilities, as we have established at the moment, are the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, the Lagos State Biobank, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, and the Central Public Health Laboratory in Yaba.
“We have also included some private facilities. They are Total Medical Services, SynLab, 54 Gene, Medbury Medical Services, Biologix Medical Services, O2 Medical Services, and Clina Lancert Laboratories. They have all passed their validations and have been accredited.
“We are in the middle of the outbreak and, therefore, we still expect to see a lot more cases in the next few months.”
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