Why Nigeria's mortality from COVID-19 is low

Nigeria’s mortality rate from COVID-19 (2 per cent) is low because the age bracket most affected are able to successfully fight the disease, an official has said.

The head of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said this, on Monday, while addressing journalists after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the PTF members briefed the president on the current status of the virus and the efforts to contain its spread.

Mr Mustapha said about 80 per cent of those who have tested positive for the virus in Nigeria are in the age bracket of 31 to 40 years, which he described as a very active part of the population.

He said such people are able to fight off the disease unlike the remaining 20 per cent, especially the elderly and those with underlying illnesses.

Mr Mustapha also said 18 of Nigeria’s 774 local governments account for 60 per cent of the confirmed cases in the country.

He suggested that his committee was considering precision lockdown that would only affect those local governments, the majority of which are Lagos, the epicentre of the virus in Nigeria.

He said this would allow for aggressive testing of residents of those areas.

READ ALSO: PTF reveals 20 local govt areas with 60% of COVID-19 in Nigeria

Nigeria currently has about 24,567 confirmed cases of the virus, including 565 deaths.

A breakdown shows that Lagos State has so far reported 10,144 cases, followed by FCT – 1,792, Oyo – 1, 306, Kano – 1, 200, Rivers – 1, 056, Edo – 962, Delta – 912, Ogun –782, Kaduna – 703, Katsina – 549, Bauchi – 500, Gombe – 492, Borno – 486, Ebonyi – 395, Plateau – 337, Jigawa – 317, Imo – 303, Abia – 302, Enugu – 261, Ondo – 244, Kwara – 217, Nasarawa – 206, Bayelsa – 185, Sokoto – 151, Osun – 116, Akwa Ibom – 86, Adamawa – 84, Niger – 84, Kebbi – 76, Zamfara – 76, Anambra – 71, Yobe – 59, Benue – 47, Ekiti – 43, Taraba- 19 and Kogi – 4.

More details later…