Nigeria on Tuesday recorded 576 new cases of the novel coronavirus as hopes of a vaccine soared after a Chinese-made vaccine entered the final stage of testing in Brazil.
In a tweet via its verified handle, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control put the country’s total virus load at 37,801 with 15,677 discharged cases and 805 deaths.
Lagos, the country’s virus epicentre, reported the highest number of new cases with 88, Kwara second with 87, and the FCT third with 82.
Other states with new cases include Plateau (62), Ondo (39), Enugu (28), Oyo (26), Taraba (24), Kaduna (20), Ebonyi (20), Edo (17), Cross River (16), Kano (14), Rivers (11), Ogun (10), Delta (9), Nasarawa (8), Osun (8), Katsina (3), Imo (2), Kebbi (1), and Borno (1).
576 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;
Lagos-88
Kwara-87
FCT-82
Plateau-62
Ondo-39
Enugu-28
Oyo-26
Taraba-24
Kaduna-20
Ebonyi-20
Edo-17
Cross River-16
Kano-14
Rivers-11
Ogun-10
Delta-9
Nasarawa-8
Osun-8
Katsina-3
Imo-2
Kebbi-1
Borno-137,801 confirmed
15,677 discharged
805 deaths pic.twitter.com/LbyjQ81wtJ— NCDC (@NCDCgov) July 21, 2020
Vaccine Hopes
Meanwhile, a Chinese-made vaccine against the new coronavirus entered the final stage of testing on Tuesday in Brazil, where volunteers received the first doses of what officials hope will be a game-changer in the pandemic.
The vaccine, developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, became the third in the world to enter Phase 3 clinical trials, or large-scale testing on humans — the last step before regulatory approval.
“We’re living in unique and historic times, and that’s why I wanted to be part of this trial,” said the 27-year-old doctor who received the first dose at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paulo.
Her name was withheld for confidentiality.
Around 9,000 health workers across six Brazilian states will receive the vaccine, known as CoronaVac, in two doses over the next three months under the study.
Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said on Monday that initial results were expected within 90 days.
Sinovac is partnering with a Brazilian public health research center, the Butantan Institute, on the trials.
If the vaccine proves safe and effective, the institute will have the right to produce 120 million doses under the deal, according to officials.
Global Update
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 610,604 people worldwide since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Tuesday.
At least 14,736,130 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 8,150,900 are now considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.
Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases.
On Monday, 4,323 new deaths and 212,052 new cases were recorded worldwide. Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were Brazil with 632, followed by India with 587 and United States with 435.
The United States is the worst-hit country with 140,909 deaths from 3,830,926 cases. At least 1,160,087 people have been declared recovered.
After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 80,120 deaths from 2,118,646 cases, the United Kingdom with 45,312 deaths from 295,372 cases, Mexico with 39,485 deaths from 349,396 cases, and Italy with 35,058 deaths from 244,624 cases.
The country with the highest number of deaths compared to its population is Belgium with 85 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by United Kingdom with 67, Spain 61, Italy 58, and Sweden 56.
China — excluding Hong Kong and Macau — has to date declared 83,693 cases (11 new since Monday), including 4,634 deaths (0 new), and 78,817 recoveries.
Europe overall has 205,816 deaths from 2,971,431 cases, Latin America and the Caribbean 164,216 deaths from 3,880,684 infections, the United States and Canada 149,793 deaths from 3,941,552 cases, Asia 51,805 deaths from 2,166,106 cases, Middle East 23,403 deaths from 1,024,374 cases, Africa 15,416 deaths from 737,948 cases, and Oceania 155 deaths from 14,043 cases.
As a result of corrections by national authorities or late publication of data, the figures updated over the past 24 hours may not correspond exactly to the previous day’s tallies.
