COVID-19: Nigeria records 11 more deaths; 1,016 new cases

Data from the Nigeria Centre for Diseases and Control has shown that the country recorded 11 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday taking the total death toll to 1,278 even as it recorded 1,061 new cases that day.

The NCDC in an update on its site said 1016 new cases were discovered across 21 states, taking the total figure in the country to 86,576.

Since early December, there has been a spike in coronavirus cases in Nigeria.

Health experts believe the lowering of guard on safety and the weak enforcement of protocols especially in the country’s major airports in Abuja and Lagos could be responsible for the development, warning that the situation could get worse if citizens keep violating safety protocols.

Active cases in the country rose sharply from about 3,000 some weeks ago to over 11,000 due to a rise in new infections.

Of the over 86,000 cases so far, 73,322 patients have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.

The 1,016 new cases were reported from 21 states – Lagos (434), FCT (155), Plateau (94), Kaduna (56), Rivers (56), Oyo (30), Nasarawa (27), Zamfara (25), Abia (22), Enugu (18), Kano (18), Bayelsa (15), Edo (14), Ogun (11), Borno (10), Ebonyi (8), Jigawa (7), Anambra (4), Delta (3), Niger (3), Akwa Ibom (3), and Osun (3).

Lagos led with 434 new cases followed by the FCT with 155 new infections on Wednesday.

With the country into the second wave of the pandemic, federal authorities have ordered the reopening of all isolation and treatment centres nationwide.

The Nigerian government has also reintroduced new restrictions to check the spread of the virus, including closure of bars and nightclubs and limiting the number of people allowed in a public gathering.

According to the NCDC, the failure of Nigerians to comply with the COVID-19 safety protocols during the festive period could lead to more spread of the disease.