Lagos, FCT, Ogun, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kano, have signed up to participate in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) solidarity trial to help find an effective treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19).
The solidarity trial which is an international clinical trial, is part of the WHO efforts to develop effective treatment regimen and vaccines to combat COVID-19 in the shortest possible.
The Minister of Health, made this known on Monday in Abuja, during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
He said: “Federal Government is cooperating with the WHO on treatment regimen solidarity trial with the following states enrolled; Lagos, FCT, Ogun, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kano.
“As at the end of Monday, Nigeria has ramped up testing by 1,127 to a total of 27,078 tests, which yielded 4,399 cases in 35 States, with a gender ratio of 70 to 30 percent for men and women.
“Kogi and Cross River States have not reported any cases, but we are optimistic that we can work with the State Health Ministry to validate this in due course, when we engage the state authorities.
“A team from the Ministry of Health, made up of experts from various specialties, including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), is on standby to proceed to Calabar as soon as travel arrangements can be made, taking with them, resource to support the health system.
“Senior management of the Federal Ministry of Health and clinical case managers in our hospitals, this morning participated in a multinational teleconference with Chinese medical and academic experts in Beijing, where much insight was gained into the treatment strategy of China and other matters of common interest were discussed. The learnings from this intervention are invaluable in reexamining our methods.
“It is important that our response to COVID-19 be a concerted national, collaborative drive, to stand a better chance of being effective. So far, our efforts are yielding result as shown in states where panic and scare were initially rife, but now subsumed.”
The Minister further said that the 260 Thisday Dome treatment and isolation bed facility for COVID -19, situated in the Central Business District, Abuja, is ready for use and will be commissioned on Tuesday.
According to him, “The Thisday Dome treatment center, a project of the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) is complete and ready for commissioning tomorrow. The Hon. Minister of FCT will participate in the event.
“This center is fully self-contained, coming with a PCR Laboratory, a fully equipped ICU and an incinerator. This over 260 bed facility adds tremendous boost to the FCT capacity and capabilities.”
More than 100 countries have joined the solidarity trial. Till date over 1,200 patients have been randomized from the first five countries to evaluate the safety and efficacy of drug combinations.