The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, has revealed one of the agency’s challenges, in its bid to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

In a tweet on Sunday, he said the NCDC was in dire need to stock more of the RNA extraction kits to support the expansion of its testing capacity for COVID-19. Dr Ihekweazu specification and the preferred manufacturers of the test kits the agency needed to effectively combat the spread of the disease.

The NCDC boss made the demand amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country which has topped 1,000.

As of April 26, Nigeria has recorded 1,273 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with its death toll at 40 while 239 people have been discharged. A total of 32 states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCCT) have recorded at least one case of COVID-19.