Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases have crossed 54,000 after 143 fresh infections were confirmed on Monday just as the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 called for caution in the face of declining infections.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said the new cases, reported in seventeen states and the Federal Capital Territory, take the number of confirmed infections in the country to 54,008.
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According to the data from the NCDC, Nigeria’s new pandemic hotbed, Plateau State, had the highest number of infected persons for the day – 35 – and Kaduna – 21.
Lagos State had 19 fresh cases of the virus, FCT – 13, Ebonyi – 9, Adamawa – 7, Enugu – 7, Katsina – 7, Edo – 6 and Kwara – 5.
Three new persons were infected in Osun State, Anambra – 2, Kano – 2, Niger – 2, Ogun – 2, Benue – 1, Borno – 1 and Sokoto – 1.
143 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;
Plateau-35
Kaduna-21
Lagos-19
FCT-13
Ebonyi-9
Adamawa-7
Enugu-7
Katsina-7
Edo-6
Kwara-5
Osun-3
Anambra-2
Kano-2
Niger-2
Ogun-2
Benue-1
Borno-1
Sokoto-154,008 confirmed
41,638 discharged
1,013 deaths pic.twitter.com/jCuJMtRoB0— NCDC (@NCDCgov) August 31, 2020
Of the number of cases, 41,638 persons have been treated and discharged from several states in the country with 1,013 deaths, however, confirmed from the pandemic.
‘Virus Still Potent’
Although the country has been reporting lower COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, the PTF has warned Nigerians to remain vigilant.
“The PTF still urges caution and vigilance on the declining numbers because the virus is still potent and very dangerous,” the Chairman of the task force, Boss Mustapha said in reference to the lowest infections – 138 – reported by Nigeria in four months.
Boss Mustapha said despite the increased testing capacity in Nigeria, the number of samples collected has not been encouraging.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), is therefore calling on states to expand their sample collection scope.
A Global Pandemic
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 847,071 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Monday.
At least 25,273,510 cases have been registered. Of these, at least 16,355,100 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 Sunday, 3,698 new deaths and 217,825 new cases were recorded worldwide. Based on the latest reports, the countries with the newest deaths were India with 971, Brazil with 366 and Mexico with 339.
