The Federal Government has asked civil servants based in Abuja to make use of the ThisDay Dome to test for COVID-19. This happened as the number of COVID-19 cases rose from 38,948 to 39,539 on Friday
The government directive was contained in a circular by the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Evelyn Ngige.
Ngige signed the circular titled, ‘Conduct of COVID-19 testing for civil servants,’ on behalf of the HOSF, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan.
The circular dated July 17, 2020 was addressed to all federal permanent secretaries.
It read, “I am directed to inform you that the Federal Government has provided facilities for the conduct of COVID-19 tests for civil servants at the ThisDay Dome, Mohammed Kur Avenue, by Nanet Suites, Central Business District, Abuja (from 10am to 4pm daily) as part of efforts to curtail the spread of the disease.
“Accordingly, you are required to notify all staff of the testing facility to enable members of staff who experience COVID-19-related symptoms and those wishing to get tested in your MDAs to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Concurrently, the Federal High Court management on Friday has scheduled Monday for the collection of the samples of its workers in Abuja for COVID-19 testing.
This was contained in a circular signed by a Senior Medical Officer 1, Dr Adaora Keazor.
According to the circular, the sample collection exercise would take place for “interested individuals” from 9am on Monday within the court premises.
The development came one week after the management of the court announced that its Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho, and other close aides had embarked on self-isolation after a COVID-19 positive case was recorded among his aides.
Meanwhile, over 10, 000 health workers in Africa have been infected with COVID-19, the World Health Organisation African Region stated this on Friday via Twitter.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said in a 1:01 minute video clip on the agency’s Twitter handle that one of the biggest challenges in protecting health workers was the global shortage of personal protective equipment which had severely affected African countries.
She, however, said through the UN Global Supply Platform, over two million PPE items such as goggles, face masks and gloves had been shipped to African countries. She added that 41 million PPE items were in the process of being shipped, starting from this weekend.
Moeti said, “The growth we are seeing in COVID-19 cases in Africa is placing an ever-greater strain on health services across the continent.
“This has very real consequences for the individuals who work in them, and there is no more sobering example of this than the rising number of health worker infections.”
As of Friday, about 790,000 COVID-19 cases were recorded with over 16,000 deaths recorded in around 40 countries on the continent.
