Thisday
Nigeria’s first COVID-19 mobile testing booth has been launched in Ota, Ogun State. The booth was designed by the founder of the Flying Doctors, Dr. Ola Brown.
The Deputy Governor of Ogun state, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, and the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, were present at the flag-off of the drive-in testing centre.
Speaking on the rationale for choosing Ota as the location of the Drive-in Centre, Onanuga said: “Ota was chosen for the project as it is an area of the state that borders Lagos and is therefore deemed to be higher risk. We are committed to the wellbeing of citizens in Ogun and that is why we worked closely with Dr Ola Brown and her team to develop this innovative project.”
It was learnt from the event that personal protective equipment has been a major expense during the COVID-19 epidemic for developed and developing countries respectively.
It was further gathered that the mobile testing booth not only reduces the need for as much PPE, it also potentially saves millions per day.
“It reduces the risk of healthcare worker infections by providing a barrier between the potentially infected patient and the healthcare worker taking the sample. The mobile testing booth is a timely invention as the country has recorded COVID-19 infections in at least 40 medical personnel.”
The heavy duty gloves used to take the samples are sprayed with disinfectant between samples further preventing cross infection.
In her remarks, Brown said it was important that Nigerians avoid the situation that occurred in Europe which according to some statistics nearly 10 per cent of healthcare workers contracted the virus.
“In Nigeria, we need every healthcare worker to be healthy and disease free if we want to stand a chance to win this war; we have far fewer healthcare workers compared to Europe. That means we have to innovate, embrace new ideas, be agile, smarter and do more with less.”
The deputy governor reminded the community members and other stakeholders that the state would continue to embrace innovative ideas and solutions in health care and other sectors.