Nigeria records 112 new coronavirus infections, no new case in Lagos

Nigeria recorded 112 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total number of infections in the nation to 64,996.

As Nigeria did not record a single death from the virus on Saturday, the total fatalities in the country remain 1,163.

This is according to an update by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday night.

None of the 112 new cases which were recorded in 15 states were found in Lagos. This is the first time the commercial city, Nigeria’s coronavirus epicenter with over 22,000 cases, a third of the country’s total, would not report a single daily case in many weeks.

Meanwhile, more recoveries were recorded even as fears of an imminent and more devastating second wave of infection gains momentum.

Of the nearly 65,000 total, about 61,029 persons have been discharged from hospitals, after treatment, while nearly 4,000 active cases remain in the country.

The 112 new cases were reported from 15 states: FCT (27), Oyo (27), Bayelsa (9), Rivers (9), Delta (7), Edo (5), Kaduna (5), Ogun (5), Anambra (3), Katsina (3), Ondo (3), Osun (3), Plateau (3), Niger (2), and Kano (1).

Abuja, Nigeria’s capital and the second-most impacted city with a total of over 6,000 cases, and Oyo State came tops in Saturday’s tally with 27 infections each.

With the latest numbers, the total cases in Lagos remains 22,268, followed by Abuja (6,371), Plateau (3,719), Oyo (3,617), Rivers (2,914), Kaduna (2,762), Edo (2,685), Ogun (2,099), Delta (1,823), Kano (1,760), Ondo (1,720), Enugu (1,332), Kwara (1,084), Ebonyi (1,055), Katsina (965), Osun (940), Gombe (938). Abia (926), Borno (745), and Bauchi (744).

Imo State has recorded 648 cases, Benue (493), Nasarawa (485), Bayelsa (423), Ekiti (341), Jigawa (325), Akwa Ibom (319), Anambra (285), Niger (283), Adamawa (261), Sokoto (165), Taraba (153), Kebbi (93), Cross River (89), Yobe (82), Zamfara (79), while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.

As Nigeria records more COVID-19 cases, worries are rife that the second wave which is already causing havoc in Europe and America could occur

Experts said a second wave could be more deadly in Nigeria especially because citizens have lowered their guard on safety.

Both Nigerians and the government appear to be lax about adhering to and enforcing COVID-19 safety protocols.

Nigeria’s new COVID-19 infections have increased in the last two weeks, a PREMIUM TIMES review of official data shows, suggesting a possible resurgence in COVID-19 cases after weeks of low numbers.

Last week (November 1-7), the country recorded 937 new cases, a two per cent increase from the previous week’s record of 923 cases which was a 32 per cent increase from the preceding week.

Nigeria recorded its highest daily figure of confirmed infections in three months with the 300 reported cases last Sunday.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, the director of Nigeria’s infectious disease agency, NCDC said a second wave is “inevitable” if citizens do not continue to adhere to measures put in place to contain the viral pandemic.

Currently, Nigeria has tested over 700,000 of its 200 million population.