State governments have intensified preparations of isolation centres in readiness for possible admission of COVID-19 patients as cases of the virus continue to rise in the country.
Officials of states including Ogun, Gombe, Benue, Lagos, Ondo and Sokoto, said they had enough bed spaces to admit COVID-19 patients.
This came to the fore as the number of officially confirmed COVID-19 infections hit 236, 014 while the rate of full vaccination was stalled at 3.9 per cent as of Saturday.
Despite the increasing cases, the Nigeria Police Force, the military, and other security agencies have failed to enforce the compulsory vaccination mandate for their personnel.
On Friday, the country recorded 1,584 new cases, while on Saturday the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed 1,305 new cases of the virus.
The agency added that on Saturday alone, 21 persons died of COVID-19 complications bringing the fatality toll across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to 3,014.
Amidst the surging cases, the Ogun State Government said it had no fewer than 260-bed spaces in the four isolation centres in the state. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, while fielding questions from one of our correspondents in Abeokuta, said there was no need for more beds over the rising cases of COVID-19
She said “Ogun State has 260 isolation beds; four isolation centres. No no need for more beds.”
Coker said the state was not charging any fee for COVID-19 tests. She however said N39,000 was being charged by private laboratories in the state.