Coronavirus: Nigeria setup West Africa’s first drive-through test centre

Nigeria has set up Africa’s first drive-through testing centre for the deadly novel coronavirus, premiumtimesng.com has reported.

The centre is located in the country’s economic capital, Lagos, which has an estimated population of 21 million.

The Lagos drive-through test center uses WHO-approved polymerase chain reaction test, which pinpoints the existence of genetic material from the virus.

Patients visit the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) website and fill in a form that determines their eligibility. They are asked a few questions such as if they have any travel history outside Nigeria, any fever, coughs or breathing difficulties, or if they have come in contact with suspected cases. Also included are those exhibiting symptoms and living in an area with moderate or high COVID-19 infections.

“We are not testing everyone that indicates interest. This is because kits are scarce, and we do not want to waste what we have now,” explains Babatunde Salako, the Director-General of the NIMR.

The website generates unique appointment codes for eligible patients, and because Lagos is currently enforcing restricted movement to curtail the spread of coronavirus, they also get a personalised pass that lets them through police/military checkpoints as they make their way to the drive-through facility.

Once there, each car gets sprayed over, before the patients can proceed to verify their data. Next, they drive up to the doctors and let down their windows, to get their noses and throats swabbed.

“The samples are immediately immersed in a transport medium that is not compromised by Lagos’ high temperatures, before being taken in batches to the NIMR laboratory a few meters away.

“Each test takes roughly 20 minutes, and results are available within 24-48 hours, and delivered electronically.”

“In cases where a review is needed, the samples are sent for further testing; positive results are sent to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, which then commences isolation of patients,” Temie Giwa-Tubosun, the CEO of LifeBank, the logistics partner at the facility, said.

Kenya has a similar arrangement, its mobile testing cost between $100 and $123, and results take 4-6 days to be ready.

Nigeria has  276 cases of coronavirus with six deaths.