Relief At Last, Nigeria Takes Delivery Of Coronavirus Test Kits

There is a measure of relief in some quarters in Nigeria following the arrival of test kits for the coronavirus pandemic currently causing havoc globally, and moreso in Nigeria,

The peculiarity of the Nigerian case is the absence of requisite equipment but the arrival of the kits appear to assuage emotions.

They were donated by Jack Ma Foundation and Ali Baba Foundation to African Union Member States, and were taken delivery of today.

The donations were brought into the cargo area of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos by an Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane.

However, this is coming on the heels of orders by the Lagos State government to close markets as a way of stopping further spread of the epidermic.

It was possible for the kits to arrive because the closure to international flights by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority provides a window of grace for emergency flights such as this at the MMIA.

The Eagle leant that over 1.5 million laboratory diagnostic test kits and over 100 tons of infection prevention and control commodities were in the consignment.

This relief initiative was launched by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dr Abiy Ahmed; the Jack Ma Foundation; and Alibaba Foundation as part of actions towards implementation of the Africa joint continental strategy for COVID-19 led by the African Union through its Africa Centre for Disease Control.

Each AU member state is expected to get equipment consisting of 20,000 laboratory diagnostic test kits, 100,000 medical masks, and 1000 protective suits and face shields to the fight against COVID-19.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there are 42 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control