It is cheering that all the facilities for COVID-19 TESTING LABORATORY provided by the health-friendly Governor Willie Obiano at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital and elsewhere in the state are functioning at full capacity now. The COOUTH laboratory has run many COVID-19 tests so far. Each of its 5 machines has an installed capacity to run 470 tests in 24 hours. This means that the molecular laboratory can run over two thousand COVID-19 tests in 24 hours.

No doubt, coronavirus pandemic is no more a distant threat. Some of people have lost close relatives and friends to complications arising from the pandemic. A good number of people have been infected with the virus nationwide and Anambra is not insulated from this deadly virus. However, our best chances of surviving this global threat remain early testing and strict compliance to the COVID-19 safety protocols.

Experience garnered from managing the pandemic in Anambra state shows that early case detection and management play a major role in patients’ survival of COVID-19. Available data indicates that all the patients who submitted to call for early testing and treatment survived the pandemic.

The patients who have died so far were people who wasted a long time and reported their cases when the virus had made serious progress on their health. It is therefore important that Ndi Anambra should subject themselves to early testing, which will lead to early detection and management.

Therefore, Ndi Anambra should understand that with early detection and careful management, most of us shall beat the pandemic. Fortunately, Ndi Anambra have a caring governor, who has directed that the cost of testing and treatment should be borne by the state government. And Anambra is at a stage where one of the most effective survival strategies against this pandemic is to increase the number of tests we do. However, the strategies will be in vain without the cooperation of the people.

Happily, with the new molecular lab procured by Akpokuedike at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku, Awka, the only lab in the Southeast capable of testing up to 470 samples daily, Anambra is poised to fight the pandemic to a standstill as it did in the early stage. But we must work together to achieve it.

That is why the state government is appealing to all the traditional rulers and all the leaders of the church as well opinion leaders to assist the state in creating more awareness on the need for people to go for tests. The primary aim for the intensified testing is early detection and treatment.

This is because if virus is found out early enough, the chance of successful management will be very high. Above all, treatment and testing for coronavirus is free. Early detection will save infected people the agony of having to use oxygen mask or ventilator to get treated for COVID-19.

Ndi Anambra, let’s go for a Covid-19 test today. It is the only way to erase all doubts. Contrary to the thinking of a couple of people, COVID-19 is far from a death sentence. In fact, Anambra has not lost even a patient whose status was reported early. All the dead victims were reported very late, in some cases when the persons had already passed on.

Furthermore, early detection of COVID-19 attacks would enable government doctors and other medical team members to treat affected individuals in their homes. Government has managed some cases at home successfully.

Therefore, any person whose case is not critical can be treated in his or her residence, if the person so desires. This is a good development because one major reason why a large number of people have all along refused to be tested for COVID-19 is the fear of being sent to protective centres. Ndi Anambra, let’s go for COVID-19 test today.

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