By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
The Chairman of Nigeria’s Coronavirus Task Force, Boss Mustapha, has raised the alarm that the country was facing oxygen supply challenges to treat coronavirus patients.
He also lamented what he described as unacceptable laboratory delays as case numbers rose to the highest recorded in a single week.
This is coming on the heels of resurgence of the virus worldwide, bringing greater case loads and hospitalisations.
While naming Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, as an area of concern, Mustapha said, “There is an on-going review of the chain for the supply of medical oxygen for our medical facilities across the nation.
“Labs’ inability to function optimally has resulted in unacceptable levels of delay in receiving results.”
He called on Nigeria’s state governments to reopen all laboratories, ensure prompt testing and keep open treatment centres.
“This is not helping our national response,” he said.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has recorded few coronavirus cases compared to others on the continent, according to Reuters reort.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, officials count 84,811 as of Tuesday evening, with 1,264 deaths.
South Africa, with a population little more than a quarter of Nigeria’s, has recorded 1 million cases.
