Weekly Review: Nigeria’s new COVID-19 infections increase for fourth consecutive week

For the fourth consecutive week, Nigeria’s new weekly COVID-19 infections have increased, PREMIUM TIMES’ review of official data shows.

This paper reported how new cases increased by 32 percent in the 44th week of the pandemic. Also, in the following week, (November 1-7), the country recorded 937 fresh cases, a two percent increase from the preceding week’s record.

In the 46th week of the pandemic (November 8-14), Nigeria recorded 1,206 fresh cases, a 22 per cent increase from the 45th week’s figures.

Last week (November 15-21), the country recorded 1,232 fresh cases, a 2.1 percent increase from the previous week’s record.

It should be noted that the increase in new cases last week came amid a 27 per cent increase in the number of tests carried out.

A total of 33,407 samples were collected for testing last week as against the 24,210 tested the previous week. Since the pandemic broke out in February, a total 739,216 samples have been collected for testing.

The increasing number of COVID-19 cases might be as a result of the laxity on the part of Nigerians and the government about adhering and enforcing COVID-19 safety protocols.

The increasing figures show the possibility of Nigeria slipping into the second wave of the pandemic like some countries of the world.

The NCDC has continually warned the populace not to be swayed by belief that the virus has been defeated, urging everyone to adhere to the safety protocols.

Less recoveries, deaths

Despite the increased infections, however, Nigeria witnessed a significant reduction in deaths last week.

A PREMIUM TIMES analysis showed that there was a slight reduction in the number of COVID-19 patients discharged and deaths recorded last week.

A total of 855 persons recovered and were discharged last week, which represents a 25 per cent reduction when compared to the previous week’s record of 1,146.

Also, Nigeria recorded three deaths last week compared to nine persons that died from COVID-19 complications in the previous week.

The last time Nigeria recorded such a low casualty was five weeks ago (October 4-10) when only two deaths were reported.

Experts have attributed the waning death rate to good management of the cases in isolation centres across the country.

Nigeria so far

As of the time of reporting, Nigeria has 66,228 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of this figure, 61,884 have been discharged and 1,166 deaths have been recorded in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

A breakdown of the confirmed cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 22,902 cases, followed by FCT – 6,492, Plateau — 3,800, Oyo — 3,702, Rivers — 2,954, Edo — 2,691, Kaduna — 2,860, Ogun — 2,149, Delta — 1,823, Kano — 1,771, Ondo — 1,727, Enugu — 1,332, Kwara — 1,088, Ebonyi — 1,055, Osun — 945, Katsina — 970, Abia — 926, Gombe — 938, Borno — 745, Bauchi — 753, Imo — 662, Benue — 493, Nasarawa — 485, Bayelsa — 445, Ekiti — 354, Jigawa — 327, Akwa Ibom — 319, Anambra — 285, Niger — 295, Adamawa — 261, Sokoto — 165, Taraba — 156, Kebbi — 93, Zamfara — 79, Cross River— 90, Yobe — 92 and Kogi — 5.

Lagos State remains the epicentre for the disease with the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the country.

The other five states with the highest number of confirmed cases are FCT, Plateau, Oyo, Rivers and Kaduna states.

Only Kogi and Sokoto states have no active COVID-19 cases currently.

Timeline last week

On Sunday, 152 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the country.

As of 11:55 p.m. on November 15, a total of 65,148 cases had been reported, out of which 61,073 had recovered and 1,163 deaths recorded.

On Monday, 157 new cases of the pandemic were reported in the country.

On Tuesday, 152 new cases were reported.

On Wednesday, 236 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the country.

On Thursday, 146 new cases were reported in Nigeria, hence bringing the tally of confirmed cases to 65,839.

On Friday, 143 new cases of the pandemic were recorded.

On Saturday, 246 new cases were reported in Nigeria, hence bringing the tally of confirmed cases to 66,228 as of 11:55 p.m. on November 21.