Maximal Covering Location Problem (MCLP) for the identification of potential optimal COVID-19 testing facility sites in Nigeria

The identification of University Teaching and Research Hospitals (UTRHs) for siting additional National Center for Disease Control Molecular Laboratories (NCDCMLs) for effective coverage of Local Government Areas (LGAs) during the COVID-19 pandemic was accomplished using the Maximal Covering Location Problem (MCLP) method. The maximum number of NCDCMLs required together with the maximum drive time to these identified optimal NCDCMLs were estimated. The NCDCMLs are skewed in favor of the southwestern Nigeria and there is a significant positive correlation between the number of NCDCMLs and the reported COVID-19 infections (r= 0.860, p 0.001). There are 22.22%, 35.79%, 63.82%, 76.10% and 82.04% of LGAs within 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10hr drive time, respectively, from at least one NCDCML. Addition of five new UTRHs will ensure that 79% of all the LGAs in Nigeria are within 4 hr drive time to at least one NCDCML. Four of the seven proposed new NCNCMLs are optimal while the remaining three are not. Perhaps, this study is the first attempt at evaluating the use of UTRHs as an alternative to none UTRHs NCDCML. The use of the MCLP method allows for the identification of not only the required numbers of NCDCMLs but also the drive time to them.

Automated summary

The study utilized the MCLP method to identify University Teaching and Research Hospitals (UTRHs) for siting additional National Center for Disease Control Molecular Laboratories (NCDCMLs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing a skew towards the southwestern Nigeria in the distribution of NCDCMLs and a significant positive correlation between the number of NCDCMLs and COVID-19 infections.