The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi has come out to say that Lagos residents should expect an increase in the number of coronavirus cases that will be reported in the state in the next few weeks.

He recently revealed that this is to be expected because of the increase in laboratory testing and the diversification of sample collection centres in Lagos State.

According to him, there are plans to validate rapid testing to increase case detection in the state even if there is a problem of home-isolation Nigerian patients are practicing that is affecting the number of people at the isolation centres across Lagos.

He added that Lagos State is working on making home-isolation official since citizens are practising it anyway.

His words, “Lagos State has remained the epicentre of the diseases with 2,970 confirmed cases,2261 active cases,649 discharged and 42 deaths.”

“There are people who are already practising self/home-isolation on their own, because we can’t find them, the numbers they give us, maybe they are false or they don’t answer their phones. When you go out to pick them at their residences, they have absconded their residences. So, they are isolating themselves in different places.

“In effect, the concept of home-isolation is being practised by many Nigerians, even though it is not yet a state or national practice.

“The people of Lagos are practicing home isolation which is one of the reasons that we as the government is trying to transition to home care because it is happening anyway, we might as well regularise it and make it an official option.”

“You would expect us to be full by now based on the number of cases we are diagnosing. The only reason we are not full is because as we admit, we discharge. But as we diagnose and try to evacuate the patients to the isolation centres, we are finding it difficult to find some patients.

“The trend is increasing, it seems as if people who get a positive test are reluctant to be admitted, mainly because of the stigma which we are working very hard on because there shouldn’t be a stigma around COVID-19, it is just like any other infection, when you catch malaria, cold or flu, it is not a stigmatising disease.”

“In about a week or so, we are going to give the definitive parameters of how the state is going to integrate home-based care into our isolation strategy.”