Lagos Spends Between N40,000 to N50,000 on COVID-19 Test – Commissioner

Lagos State Government has said it costs between N40,000 to N50,000 for each COVID-19 test it has conducted so far.

The Commissioner For Health, Akin Abayomi, who disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos during a press briefing said since February when the state recorded the first index case that it has tested 16,000 samples.

“Regarding the testing, we so far have performed 16,000 tests in Lagos, which is much higher than anywhere else in Nigeria, and we’re planning to continue to test up to about a thousand tests a day.

“So, in the next month or two, we’re going to be ramping up our capacity to test. How much does it cost to test? Well, for now, the government is providing testing free of charge and the government pays about N40,000 to N50,000 per test.

“But to ramp up our testing, we’re going to try and use some means of subsidising those tests, either through insurance or through some contributions from donors or from developmental partners to help us to subsidise the tests.

“For now, the state government is providing COVID-19 testing free of charge and all citizens who need to be tested for COVID-19 because they are not feeling well, or they’ve had a close contact, can get that test free of charge at any of our COVID-19 testing sites in the four laboratories” Abayomi said.

The Commissioner said the state is planning to increase its testing rate as second wave of the infection is likely to occur.

“A second wave of infection is likely to occur like it is happening in China presently. The second wave is not always as serious as the first outbreak. However, there are plans to validate rapid testing to increase case detection.

“Over 75 to 80 per cent of people who catch the virus will recover from it. There was an on-going research to find out why the disease was not as serious in Lagos as it is in other countries of the world where higher fatalities are recorded.

“For these reasons, the state is about to roll out chloroquine trials in collaboration with World Health Organisation (WHO). The traditional medicine board is working hard on home remedies in form of dietary supplements” he added.