Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has announced the readiness of the apex bank to support researchers, science-based institutions and biotechnology firms with N100 billion grant in the search for a homegrown vaccine to fight COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Emefiele who disclosed this at the commissioning of ThisDay Dome Testing, Treating, Tracing and Isolation Centre in Abuja, said the pandemic has had an inexperienced effect on the global economy touching all nations big and small.

So far, as he said, the Coalition Against COVID-19, (CACOVID) has raised over N27billion to fund this initiative adding that the donation received so far is being used to build well-equipped isolation centres across the 36 states of the federation.

The CBN Governor stated: ‘’’The ThisDay Dome Testing, Treating, Tracing and Isolation Centre being launched today, represents a part of the support being provided by the CACOVID alliance. So far, CACOVID has equipped and handed over isolation centres in Rivers, Enugu, Kwara, Ondo and Borno.

‘’It is expected that other isolation centres will be handed over in the other states of the country including FCT, by May 23rd 2020. As part of measures put in place to cushion the effect of the COVID-19, CACOVID has provided food items to poor and Indigents Nigerians’’.

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The minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who also spoke at the event said it takes all hands on deck to tackle the worst single public health emergency of our generation stressing that the nature of the virus makes the identification and isolation of infected persons and their contacts a public health imperative and the importance cannot be over-emphasized.