Coronavirus: Lab workers in Kano infected

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, says Kano suspended coronavirus testing at its centre after some laboratory workers were infected.

A member of the Kano COVID-19 taskforce, Sadiq Isah, had initially announced on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 that testing was suspended because the centre ran out of reagents and other basic needs.

He said samples of all suspected cases will henceforth be transported to Abuja until the centre's needs are met.

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire [Twitter/@NCDCgov] Pulse Nigeria

However, while speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday evening, Ehanire said the state has been supplied with re-agents as requested, but that the lab will remain closed until it has been decontaminated due to infection of some workers.

"There was a report that they had reduced availability of re-agents and they were supplied that.

"In addition to that, there was a temporary halt in the activity because some of the workers in the laboratory got infected, and the laboratory had to be shut down for decontamination," he said.

Only days after it recorded its index case, Kano has recorded the third highest number of coronavirus cases in Nigeria with 73 cases, behind Lagos with 430, and the FCT with 118.

As of April 21, Nigeria had recorded a total of 782 coronavirus cases in 24 states and the FCT.