SYNLAB Urges Nigerians to Use Authorised Labs for COVID-19 Test

By Rebecca Ejifoma

Following their observations that some people are resorting to COVID-19 test results from racketeering and forgery, SYNLAB Nigeria has urged Nigerians to use labs like theirs which are authorised by the government.

The SYNLAB Director, Dr. Pamela Ajayi, said this in a media release made available to THISDAY on Tuesday.

“It has come to our attention that some people are resorting to COVID-19 test results from racketeering and forgery, thereby, preying on desperate and naive travellers, and deceiving unsuspecting officials,” she hinted.

While bemoaning that such practice would increase the spread of the virus, the director said it was soiling the name of reputable laboratories authorised by the government to carry out COVID-19 tests.

She harped on: “That is why everyone must ensure that they get tested at laboratories that have an authentication process in place, one of such laboratories is SYNLAB Nigeria.

“As one of the authorised COVID-19 testing labs in Nigeria, SYNLAB has put several measures in place to curb the trend of falsified COVID-19 test results.“

This, Ajayi noted, will ensure that COVID-19 reports from their lab are easily authenticated, verifiable and differentiated from forged results.

“SYNLAB has included a unique security feature in its COVID reports, a unique 2D barcode that comes with all SYNLAB COVID reports since October 19, 2020.

“This feature can be used by individuals as well as law enforcement officials to authenticate SYNLAB COVID reports,” the director explained.

According to Ajayi, to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the government implemented several guidelines and regulations, including presenting a negative COVID-19 test result before embarking on international travels.

She listed two easy steps that can be implemented to authenticate a SYNLAB COVID-19 test result:

“Scan the 2D Code with any smartphone; open your camera app; and point it steadily for two to three seconds towards the 2D Code (ensure your phone is enabled to scan QR codes).

On step two, she instructed Nigerians to open the URL that comes up to verify that the data on the result matches the one revealed in the URL.

According to her, if the key data such as patient name, laboratory code, collection date, and test result do not match, it is a fake result.

“However, if the data shown on the URL matches with that on the report, then you have a valid COVID report issued by SYNLAB,” she enlightened.

While describing SYNLAB as a reputable lab with quality assurance and compliance in the country, she added that it has global recognition and considered one of Europe’s leading laboratories.

Her words: “The lab provides high-quality diagnostic services in four continents across 40 countries including Nigeria.”

SYNLAB Nigeria currently operates eight laboratories. It has established a further 20 patient locations nationwide, which provide access to quality diagnostics to Nigerians.