NYSC MEMBERS TO UNDERGO NEW COVID-19 TESTS BEFORE ORIENTATION – NCDC
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has said that all members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme at orientation camps across the country, will be tested for COVID-19 using the new Antigen-Based tests.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the NCDC Director General made this known at the PTF briefing in Abuja, on Tuesday, November 3.
Ihekweazu said the process of procurement of the antigen-based test is almost completed.
The NCDC boss noted that the development is part of the measures to ensure safe re-opening of NYSC camps scheduled for November 10.
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Ihekweazu said: “We will test all corps members and that will enable us to keep our camps safe and also help us understand what is going on in the rest of the country.”
Ihekweazu said the Government had launched an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) call vanguard in all the States with young people interested in the IPC being trained for self management and regulation in the camps as they open.
The NCDC boss explained that the risk assessment of all the camps has been on in the last few weeks and assured parents of the safety of their children in camps.
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He advised parents to encourage their children to do the needful before resuming to the camps.
Ihekweazu said, “We know that corps members are normally young mobile population. Again, we are counting on not only the young people going to camps but parents; so we need the parents to support young people to do what they have to do.
“We have been working extremely hard over the last two months with NYSC to reopen youth service camps. We have made a lot of progress to ensure that we can do that safely.”
“We will test everyone to enable us keep our camps safe with the understanding of what is going on in the country,” he said.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, on October 15, approved the reopening of camps for National Youth Service Corps orientation exercises.
Recall that the Federal Government shutdown NYSC camps across the country in March to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.
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