The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has emphasised the need for a robust partnership between the public and private sectors in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

He made the call when he commissioned the Armoured Shield Isolation Centre established by Reddington Hospital Group, in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The Armoured Shield Isolation Centre is a purpose-built medical facility equipped with ICU capabilities in response to the pandemic.

While commissioning the centre, the governor said, “this isolation centre is important for us as a government because it is a clear demonstration of the power of collaboration between the public and private sectors, we cannot do it all by ourselves.”

Sanwo-Olu commended Reddington Hospital Group for establishing the isolation centre even as the country battles the second wave of the pandemic.

He said the state government would continue to encourage private sector participation in healthcare delivery in the state, as the burden will be too much for the government to bear alone.

The governor urged Lagos residents to continue observing all the non-pharmaceutical protocols of regular washing of hands, wearing of facemask and physical distancing to curb the community transmission of the disease.

Group Medical Director of Reddington Hospital, Dr. Olutunde Lalude in his welcome address reiterated the need for the private sector to partner with government to battle against the second wave of the pandemic.

The Armoured Shield Isolation Centre is a 40-bed hospital with in-house facility for PCR testing, ambulance response, CT scan, operating theatre, isolation care, high dependency care and Level 3 ICU capability for COVID-19 treatment.

The Armoured Shield Medical Complex and its command structure is situated in four different locations across Lagos with an incident command office in Victoria Island. The facility is managed by a multi-disciplinary assemble of specialists consisting of intensive care physicians, pulmonologists, Cardiologists, internal medicine physicians, intensivists, general and thoracic surgeons, infectious disease specialists among other medical experts.

Project Director, Andy Cunliffe emphasised the need to bridge the gap between preparedness and response, saying Reddington were proud to support the efforts of government through the launch of the new Armoured Shield Centre.

He commended the hospital team for their work in opening the new isolation centre, which is a modern hospital facility, with patient safety at its core and offering well-furnished single bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, mini offices and lounges and is open to individuals who do not have a place to self-isolate or quarantine, while they await test results or if they test positive for COVID-19.

Recall that Reddington Zaine Laboratory, a COVID-19 testing facility promoted by the hospital group was commissioned in September 2020 to provide PCR testing with result available within 24 hours.

Sample collection centres has since been opened in Victoria Island, Lekki and Ikeja to provide easy access to members of the public for the test.

Reddington Zaine is one of the laboratories accredited by the Lagos state government and NCDC to provide PCR testing for international air travelers to and out of Nigeria.