Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, has said one out of every five Lagosians that exhibit respiratory symptoms are infected with COVID-19.

Professor Abayomi also warned that the disease also affects the kidneys and the blood.

The commissioner, who spoke during a television programme in Lagos, said Lagos was recording more confirmed cases lately as a reflection of the increased testing capacity, even as more patients were discharged from isolation following their full recovery.

His words: “Our diagnosis is rising because we are testing more and we are also opening more isolation centres. As we admit, we discharge and we are keeping abreast the rate of diagnosis in Lagos.

“We are currently testing people that present with symptoms of COVID-19 and I can categorically say that one in five people in Lagos with respiratory symptoms, or that is unwell, is due to COVID-19.

“We are testing the people that present with symptoms and those that present with symptoms are a reflection of the amount of the infection in the community.

“Right now, we are getting between 15 and 20 positive people that present with symptoms after testing.

“What we are saying now is that in one of five people with respiratory symptoms, that illness is due to COVID-19 and hundreds of other diseases could cause the same thing. But that is not what is going on in the community generally.

“Not one in five Lagosians, but one in five people who are unwell. So that gives us a very nice data metrics.”

Further, Abayomi said Lagos was yet to reach its peak in the outbreak, despite the fact that the trend was going up.

His words: “It is a good idea to keep our graph flat by reducing the rate of infection through the adaption of global ideas to our advantage”

He said the number of active cases in the state was under 700, even as 49 more patients were discharged.

Speaking on factors that fuel mortality from COVID-19, Abayomi warned Nigerians suffering from obesity, diabetes, and hypertension to be very careful as their condition can make them susceptible to the virus.

According to him, “there are new discoveries about the COVID-19. For instance, it is not a straightforward respiratory problem. We have found out that it impacts the blood and the kidneys.

“The common denominator is diabetes, hypertension, and underlying immunological problems. Obesity is also a possible risk factor. We watch such people closely.

“If you fall into any of these categories, you have to be very careful. Moving forward, we are looking at a situation where we can inform the public that if you fix into these categories you need to be careful

“Our death rate is very low, and there are some factor responsible for that. Lagos has a population of young people and their might be some environmental factors; our diet may also have something to do with it.”