Nigeria’s coronavirus cases exceed 65,000

The number of coronavirus infected persons in Nigeria has surpassed 65,000, amidst concerns over the imminence of a second wave against the backdrop of declined public attention to safety protocols.

On Sunday, Nigeria recorded 152 new cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 65,148, according to an update by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Again, the death toll remains 1,125 after no death was recorded in the last 24 hours. The last death recorded was on Friday when one patient died.

Three out of every five deaths from the virus in Nigeria are in people over 50 years old, the health agency said, indicating the impact of the virus on the elderly.

New infections have increased weekly in the last three weeks, a PREMIUM TIMES review of official data shows, suggesting the resurgence in COVID-19 cases after weeks of low numbers.

Meanwhile, recoveries have improved too. Of the over 65,000 total, about 61, 073 persons have been discharged from hospitals, after treatment, while about 4,000 active cases remain in the country.

The 152 new cases were reported from eight states – Lagos (136), Kano (4), Niger (3), Ekiti (2), Kaduna (2), Ogun (2), Taraba (2) and FCT (1).

Lagos, Nigeria’s coronavirus epicentre with over 22,000 infections, led in Sunday’s tally with 136 new cases.

Over 700,000 of Nigeria’s 200 million people have been tested so far for the virus.