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Nigeria Edges Towards 50,000 COVID-19 Cases With 423 New Infections

    Advertisement COVID-19 cases in Nigeria rose further on Tuesday, inching towards the 50,000 mark after the country confirmed 423 new cases. The Nigeria … Continue reading Nigeria Edges Towards 50,000 COVID-19 Cases With 423 New Infections


A graphic published on August 11, 2020 by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, showing the nation's COVID-19 statistics.
A graphic published on August 11, 2020 by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, showing the nation’s COVID-19 statistics.
A graphic published on August 11, 2020 by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, showing the nation's COVID-19 statistics.
A graphic published on August 11, 2020, by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, showing the nation’s COVID-19 statistics.

 

 

COVID-19 cases in Nigeria rose further on Tuesday, inching towards the 50,000 mark after the country confirmed 423 new cases.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, which announces national figures, revealed that the new cases were spread across 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

They take the country’s total number of cases to 47,290. Out of the number, 33,609 patients have been discharged, while 956 people have lost their lives.

On Tuesday, Lagos, the country’s pandemic epicentre, witnessed 117 new cases followed by the FCT with 40 cases, while Ondo and Rivers states recorded 35 and 28 cases respectively.

Osun State witnessed 24 more cases, Benue – 21, Abia – 19, Ogun – 19, Ebonyi – 18, Delta and Kwara – 17 each, while Kaduna and Anambra recorded 15 and 14 cases respectively.

Other states with new cases are Ekiti – 11, Kano – 9, Imo – 6, Gombe – 4, Oyo – 3, Bauchi – 1, Edo – 1, Nasarawa – 1.

 

Reduction In New Cases?

Tuesday’s numbers continue a run of lower new case numbers in the country. In August, new case numbers have averaged below 500 unlike the situation in June and July when the daily average was over 500 with 745 cases recorded on June 18.

But many believe the low numbers are down to low testing in the country. Only 319,851 COVID-19 tests had been conducted in Nigeria as of August 11, compared to more than three million tests in South Africa, which has more than 500,000 confirmed cases.

Referring to the decline in daily numbers on Monday, the Nigerian government warned that they should not be misinterpreted as the country had not reached the peak of the pandemic.

“The low test/ case confirmation numbers coming out daily should not be misinterpreted to mean that we have overcome. We have over time ramped up testing but more needs to be done to raise the quantum of test per million,” the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, said.

Graphical representation of data from the PTF highlighting the concentration of cases by states and local government areas.

 

Ventilators from US

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s battle against the pandemic received a boost on Tuesday as the United States government handed over 200 ventilators to the country.

The items were presented on Tuesday by the U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Bert Leonard, in the nation’s capital.

U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, hands over the 200 ventilators donated by the U.S government to Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Osaige Ehanire, in Abuja on August 11, 2020.

 

 

Leonard said the gesture, which fulfils a promise made by US President Donald Trump, reflected a robust diplomatic relationship which both countries have sustained for over 50 years.

She also applauded the Federal Government’s response to the pandemic, assuring Nigeria of the continued support of the United States.

“Nigeria is now one of just two countries in Africa to have an Oxygen Roadmap that seeks to fight against Harmonia, Hyposmia and now COVID-19.

“While we all continue to face unprecedented challenges as a result of COVID-19, I will like to laud Nigeria’s efforts in taking early action to combat and ameliorate this spread,” she said.

 

Confirmed Cases by State

States Affected No. of Cases (Lab Confirmed) No. of Cases (on admission) No. Discharged No. of Deaths
Lagos 16,074 2,751 13,128 195
FCT 4,525 3,172 1,307 46
Oyo 2,890 1,436 1,423 31
Edo 2,399 178 2,121 100
Rivers 1,972 196 1,721 55
Kano 1,643 276 1,313 54
Kaduna 1,628 207 1,409 12
Delta 1,613 139 1,430 44
Plateau 1,584 899 662 23
Ogun 1,497 210 1,263 24
Ondo 1,324 529 767 28
Enugu 914 395 500 19
Ebonyi 888 69 793 26
Kwara 882 311 549 22
Katsina 746 265 457 24
Borno 690 78 576 36
Abia 663 141 517 5
Osun 652 298 341 13
Gombe 635 50 562 23
Bauchi 578 34 530 14
Imo 485 314 161 10
Benue 430 282 139 9
Nasarawa 371 140 223 8
Bayelsa 346 14 311 21
Jigawa 322 3 308 11
Akwa Ibom 235 30 197 8
Niger 226 49 165 12
Ekiti 193 112 79 2
Adamawa 185 83 90 12
Anambra 156 19 119 18
Sokoto 154 0 138 16
Kebbi 90 0 82 8
Taraba 78 19 55 4
Zamfara 77 1 71 5
Cross River 73 23 42 8
Yobe 67 2 57 8
Kogi 5 0 3 2