Covid-19: Nigeria to Conduct House-to-House Test

Health authorities in the commercial nerve city of Lagos have announced its decision to begin a house-to-house coronavirus survey. The authorities say the survey became needful due to concerns that many individuals with Covid-19 symptoms do not want to come forward for testing.  

The Lagos state's health commissioner, Prof Akin Abayomi advised residents to answer questions from health workers who are going house-to-house asking checking on coronavirus symptoms.

According to the commissioner, the health workers will "make inquiries about symptoms of cough, cold and fever." Prof Abayomi is quoted as saying in a tweet from the Lagos state government’s official handle.

“Coronavirus infects the lungs. The two main symptoms are a fever and a dry continuous cough, which can sometimes lead to breathing problems.

"The survey will be carried out in a bid to intensify our search for possible cases of Covid-19"; he added.

Supporting the idea, BBC's senior Africa correspondent Anne Soy said:

“The survey is meant as a way of scouting for potential cases of coronavirus who will be prioritized for testing.”

According to reports, a similar survey was carried out in Cameroon’s biggest city, Douala. There they identified 2,313 people to be tested out of 198,640 who were screened, the health minister, Manaouda Malachie confirmed in a tweet.

Critics have questioned the commitment of the health authorities in battling the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reports that laboratories in the country can process only 1,500 tests a day whereas the city of Lagos alone has at least 14 million residents.

Nigeria has so far confirmed seven deaths and 288 cases of coronavirus - 158 of which are in Lagos state.

The health commissioner, however, did not clarify if there will be on-the-spot testing of the Coronavirus or whether those found with symptoms will be taken to the laboratory for testing.

Nigeria has so far confirmed 7 deaths from Coronavirus.

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