Lagos Approves 7 Private Labs for COVID-19 Testing

Matilda Omonaiye/

The Lagos State Government has approved seven private laboratories as Covid-19 testing centres, health commissioner, Prof Akin Abayomi, reveals today.

Abayomi, who spoke at a briefing in Lagos, said the decision was taken to ramp up Covid-19 testing in the state.

He noted that seven local government areas including Eti-Osa, Alimosho, Kosofe, Ikeja, Oshodi, Surulere and Lagos Mainland have the highest number of infections in the state.

The commissioner 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 has taken a strategic decision to include private laboratories in the testing of Covid-19.

“The testing facilities as we’ve 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’ve 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’ve all passed their validations, they 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.”

He also noted that seven local government areas including Eti-Osa, Alimosho, Kosofe, Ikeja, Oshodi, Surulere and Lagos Mainland have the highest number of infections in the state.