Covid-19: Nigeria's deaths on the increase


The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 21 Covid-19 fatalities on Christmas Day.

The scary figure is the sixth highest daily deaths since the virus crept into Nigeria in February 2020.

Before this, Nigeria had 93 deaths - the highest ever - on 27th August, this year, followed by 53 the next day, 31 on 4th September, 28 on 31st May and 27 on 29th January.

But all 21 fresh deaths were backlogs from Imo (16) and Kaduna (4) and Zamfara (1).

Nigeria had 1,305 fresh infections on Christmas Day, bringing the total to 236,014. With 120 new discharges, the total patients free from the virus is now 212,357, while 3,014 deaths overall (the new 21 inclusive) have been reported.

Two deaths and 1,356 cases were recorded in the country 24 hours earlier, an indication that the fourth wave of the disease may portend greater danger than the first three waves.

On Saturday, it was reported that Nigeria’s Presidential Villa is being ravaged by the pandemic with many top officials and aides to President Muhammadu Buhari down with the virus.

The earlier closure of the office of the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, last week, is also linked to the surge in cases as confirmed by her media aide, Aliyu Abdullahi.

NCDC said the 1,305 new cases came from  14 states.

While Lagos State came first with 705 cases, Oyo and Ondo States reported 234 and 88 cases respectively.

Kaduna State's 79 cases, included 59 for 24th December.

Others are: Rivers State with 78 cases, Ogun State 30, Anambra 25 (for 24th December), Kano 24, Enugu 12 (for 24th December) , Ekiti 11, Jigawa (for 24th December), Osun,  Plateau six each, Zamfara one case, which was on 23rd December.

The NCDC continues to appeal to Nigerians to be vaccinated against the infection, saying even if it does not stop a person from being infected, it limits the virulence of the virus.

Its Director-General, Ifedayo Adetifa urged Nigerians on Friday not only to avoid mass gatherings but to also make themselves available for vaccination.

He however, threatened that the country might be forced to introduce more stringent measures to limit the biting consequences of the pandemic. These measures, he said, could involve imposing another round of curfews.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nigeria records highest Covid cases, Europe imposes restrictions

Image
Nigeria's Covid-19 situation is now alarming! This is just as European leaders are coming up with drastic restriction measures to curtail the spread of the virus, particularly the Omicron variant, which  is fast accounting for the major cause of Covid-19 cases in the region. For the first time in February 2020 when Nigeria registered in the Covid map, the highest daily count was recorded on Wednesday.  The 4,035 new cases reported were almost double that of 2,078 on Tuesday, which was the highest until this new infamous record. Lagos State alone accounts for 3,393 cases with the other states being Rivers (260), Edo (62), Akwa Ibom (42), Kaduna (39), Ekiti and Oyo (38 each) while Delta and Kano have 31 each. Others are: Ogun (30), Abia (26), Bauchi (15), Ondo (14), Enugu (9), and Kwara (7). So far, 231,413 cases have been reported with 211,853 discharged and 2,991 fatalities.  The Federal Government and its relevant agencies have cautioned against travels and mass soc...
Read more

NCDC calls in security agencies to enforce Covid protocol, as Omicron ravages

Image
The  Nigeria Centre for Disease Control  (NCDC) has urged security agencies to collaborate with religious bodies in the enforcement of Covid-19 safety protocols during the festive season. The new concern follows several disturbing factors, particularly the realisation that Nigeria is now the third ranked African country in Omicron infections, after South Africa (1,296 cases) and Botswana (291). NCDC says Nigeria has recorded 45 Omicron cases as of 20th December. On Friday, NCDC announced 1,356 fresh Covid infections which moved the total figure to 234,709. On hundred and ninety-seven Covid patients recovered on Friday to bring Nigeria's total recoveries to 212,237, while two fatalities were reported to take the figure to 2,993. In all, there are 19,479 active Covid -19 cases in Nigeria. NCDC said the first Omicron case in Nigeria was detected in a sample on 9th November. The variant, which was first detected in South Africa and Botswana, has spread to other countries. In its f...
Read more

Rising from adversity: For Adeyinka Peter Akintunde, a year after

Image
Adeyinka Peter Akintunde (11th August 1990 - 2nd February 2021) By Muyiwa Akintunde It's a day I wish never existed: 2nd February 2021. A few minutes past 10 pm, the young medical doctor that followed me back to my car that Tuesday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja applied the tools on the body at the back seat and motioned to come along. He asked my wife to stay behind with the patient we had just brought in. Back to the doctor's corner.. "Who are you to him"?, he inquired. "He's my son", I mumbled a response. "I'm sorry, he is gone". I hardly display emotion. But for several minutes after those words of finality, I couldn't control the tears that issued from my eyes. Quickly, I realised I had to be strong. I had to be strong for my wife, who had dissolved in tears. I had to be strong for our other daughters (except the youngest, who was then on youth service in Delta State). They had found their way to the hospita...
Read more