By Gift Habib
The National Coordinator of Presidential Task Force on covid-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu has given reason why public laboratories are not allowed to conduct free testing for incoming passengers.
Aliyu said Federal government cannot afford such venture.
Besides, he said the public labs would run out of test kits should it attempt to offer free test services.
He spoke during a townhall webinar meeting organised by Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) at the weekend.
“It is not something that government can afford. We will run out of test kits”, he said.
He also explained that the Federal Government does not receive any money paid to private laboratories as it would have loved to subsidize, but it is not sustainable by the government.
“The PTF and NCDC are urgently working with all states to create a mechanism for private testing. We’ve already approached 6 or 7 states that have private labs in their states.
“A list of accredited private laboratories, especially if one is traveling out of the country, is on the NCDC microsite covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/privatelabs,” he clarified.
Ends.
