Nigeria tops regional coronavirus tallies, 5th in Africa

May 2: Nigeria tops tallies in West Africa, 5th on continent

Nigeria with tally of 2170 is the new leader in West Africa overtaking Ghana whose cases count stands at 2074. Nigeria also the second most impacted in sub-Saharan Africa and fifth overall on the continent.

As of close of day May 1, the NCDC reported 238 new cases, one of the highest daily tallies. The bul of the cases coming from Kano State. Kano’s 92 along with Abuja’s 36 and 30 from Lagos completed the top three infected states over a 24-hour period.

The number discharged rose by 32 now at 351 with 10 more deaths bringing the tally to 68. Lagos passed the 1000 infection mark whiles Kano’s stood at 311. Abuja, Gombe and Borno completed the top 5 with 214, 92 and 69 cases respectively.

Africa’s most impacted nations include:

South Africa = 5,951
Egypt = 5,895
Morocco = 4,569
Algeria = 4,154
Nigeria = 2,170

May 1: How Nigeria recorded about 1000 cases in a week

Nigeria as of April 23 was nearing the 1,000 confirmed cases point. Africa’s most populous nation’s tally at the time stood at 981. Roll on the next seven days and the country has seen almost a 1,000 new cases.

As of April 30, 2020; the NCDC record showed 1,932 cases with 58 deaths and 319 discharged patients. The current tally indicates a 951 increase since April 23. A breakdown of the increases over the period is as follows:

  • April 24 = 1,095
  • April 25 = 1,182
  • April 26 = 1,273
  • April 27 = 1,337
  • April 28 = 1,532
  • April 29 = 1,728
  • April 30 = 1,932

Kogi State being the only unaffected state so far. Kano State has meanwhile risen to second with 219 cases behind Lagos’ 976 cases. Nigeria is currently second most impacted in West Africa only second to Ghana, where over 2,000 cases have been recorded.

President Muhammadu Buhari announced Monday evening a gradual easing of confinement measures from 4 May, but will impose a night curfew and the wearing of masks.

“I have decided to put in place gradual easing of lockdown measures,” he said in a much-anticipated television address. “We will implement a curfew between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.,” President Buhari said.

“Inter-state borders will remain closed except for basic necessities (…). We will impose the wearing of masks in public places, as well as social distancing measures,” he added.

These new measures will not apply to the state of Kano, which in recent days has recorded a large number of “mysterious deaths” that are still being autopsied, according to local authorities.NCDC@NCDCgov · 

204 new cases of #COVID19 reported;

80-Kano
45-Lagos
12-Gombe
9-Bauchi
9-Sokoto
7-Borno
7-Edo
6-Rivers
6-Ogun
4-FCT
4-Akwa Ibom
4-Bayelsa
3-Kaduna
2-Oyo
2-Delta
2-Nasarawa
1-Ondo
1-Kebbi

11:50pm 30th April- 1932 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria

Discharged: 319
Deaths: 58

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NCDC@NCDCgov

As at April 30 2020, 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Nigeria have recorded at least one confirmed case of #COVID19

71% of all cases are from three states#TakeResponsibility

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Cases near 1,000; Buhari gets ECOWAS task

Total confirmed cases inched close to the 1,000 mark with 108 new cases reported by close of day April 23. Total confirmed cases now stand at 981.

78 of the new cases were recorded in Lagos, 14 in FCT, 5 in Ogun, 4 in Gombe, 3 Borno whiles Akwa Ibom, Kwara and Plateau recorded two, one, one respectively. Plateau becomes the latest state to be infected. Discharged tally stands at 197 with deaths at 31.

Kano state has had a two day no-case situation after a recent surge took it to number three on the national tally. Head of the presidential Task Force on Thursday disclosed that the NCDC had been instructed to coordinate necessary support for the state.

NCDC is to “send an enhanced support team, mobilize resources for contact tracing and immediately ensure that necessary steps are taken in conjunction with the state government to contain the spread of the pandemic in Kano and stop the city from becoming the next epicenter,” Boss Mustapha is quoted to have said.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has been given a regional role in the COVID-19 combat after fellow leaders across the West Africa subregion named him “Champion of the COVID-19 response.”

“At a time of global uncertainty such as this, caused by the devastating impact of the COVID-19, let me convey Nigeria’s solidarity with all the Member States as we collectively battle to defeat the pandemic,” Buhari said in a statement.

ECOWAS leaders on Thursday held a teleconference to discuss the impact of the virus on the region. Also present in the meeting was the ECOWAS commission chair and United Nations representative for West Africa and the Sahel.

Cases hit 873, governors ban inter-state travel

With 91 new cases of COVID-19 as of 11:25 pm 22nd April, Nigeria’s case count hit 873 confirmed cases. A break down of the new cases were as follows: 74 in Lagos, 5 in Katsina, 4 in Ogun.

Two each in Delta and Edo states and one each in Kwara, Oyo, FCT and Adamawa. discharged persons were 197 with deaths at 28.

Governors have settled on a ban on inter-state movement for a period of two weeks as part of efforts to control the spread of COVID-19. They arrived at the decision after a virtual meeting of their umbrella body, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) which held on Wednesday.

Ekiti Syaye governor and NGF Chairman, Kayode Fayemi, said the action had been necessitated by the increasing evidence of community transmission of the virus.

“Following an update from the NGF Secretariat on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, members expressed serious concern over the rising spread of the virus among health workers,” read a communique issued at the end of the meeting,” the communique issued at the end of the meeting read.

“The governors resolved to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that health workers are adequately provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and are constantly trained on the use of protective gears.

“In order to strengthen coordinated implementation of necessary public health recommendations across states, Governors resolved to set up COVID-19 Committees at the regional level, headed by their State Commissioners of Health.

“Regional Committees will continue to interface with the State Task Force Committees on COVID-19 already established in each state.

“The Forum also received briefing from the Governors of Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo and Ogun states who shared their experiences and lessons from the fight against COVID-19.

“Governors unanimously agreed to the implementation of an inter-state lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to mitigate spread of the virus from State to State. Only essential services will be permitted.”

25 states have so far recorded cases along with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Some of the uninfected states include Yobe, Benue, Taraba, Bayelsa and Plateau.

April 22: El-Rufai tests negative, crisis as Kano testing halted

Kaduna State governor Nasir el Rufai was declared free from COVID-19 after two consecutive negative tests.

“I am delighted to report today, that after nearly four weeks of observing a strict medical regime, I have now received the all-clear after two consecutive negative test results,” the Kaduna governor Twitter handle disclosed.

Affairs of the state government had been in the hands of his deputy over the period he was undergoing treatment. He appeared for a video meeting recently after rumours started spreading that he had been transferred to Lagos due to complications.

In neighbouring Kano State which has in five days become the third most impacted state by way of infection, a report that the testing center had been closed due to lack of testing materials raised eyebrows in the country along with a series of mysterious deaths the government is probing.

Other reports suggested that the testing center had been contaminated and thus tests suspended.
But in a later tweet, Director General of the Kano Metropolitan Agency, Abdullahi Garba Ramat, said the laboratory was up and running and that it had been better equipped to test suspected cases.Engr. Dr. Abdullahi Garba Ramat@Engr_Ramat

Kano state NCDC COVID-19 test Laboratory strongly back with ample Reagents enough to test hundreds of thousand people. While testing continues, we seek Almighty’s salvation and intervention to put an end to Coronavirus worldwide. @NCDCgov @dawisu @GandujeTV @GovUmarGanduje75Twitter Ads info and privacy32 people are talking about this

  • April 22: El-Rufai tests negative, crisis as Kano testing halted
  • April 22: Cases near 800, Buhari wants prisons decongested
  • April 21: Cases at 665, Kano climbing, Abba Kyari funeral gaffe apology
  • April 20: Cases at 627, Borno records case, Adeboye’s prophecy
  • April 18: Abba Kyari succumbs to COVID-19
  • National tally hits 493, national testing strategy rolled out
  • National tally hits 442, Kano third highest
  • Cases reach 373, EU donates $55m in virus combat
  • Buhari signs lockdown extension act, cases reach 343
  • COVID-19 fight about lives, livelihoods – Buhari
  • Popular pastor backtracks on 5G; Lagos, Ogun record crime
  • Buhari meets VP, Task Force; speaker warns China, cases pass 300

Special coverage of COVID-19 in Nigeria

April 22: Cases near 800, Buhari wants prisons decongested

117 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported by close of day April 21 according to NCDC tallies. Of the figure, 59 in Lagos, 29 in FCT and 14 in Kano.

6 in Borno, 4 in Katsina, 3 in Ogun and one each in Rivers and Bauchi States. “As at 11:25 pm 21st April there are 782 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria,” NCDC said in a tweet. Discharged tally stood at 197 with 25 deaths.

President Buhari has meanwhile written to the chief justice asking that certain categories of cases be expedited to allow for decongestion of prisons in the light of the danger congestion presents amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The presidency on Tuesday issued a statement that quoted the president as saying: “From available records, the inmates population at various custodial centres across the country presently stands at about 74,127 out of which 52,226 are Awaiting Trial Persons (ATPs).

“Most of these custodial centres are presently housing inmates beyond their capacities and the overcrowded facilities pose a potent threat to the health of the inmates and the public in general in view of the present circumstances, hence the need for urgent steps to bring the situation under control.

“It has become imperative for Your Lordship to request State Chief Judges to embark on immediate visit to all custodial/correctional centres within their respective States to identify and release deserving inmates where that has not been done already.”

He also suggested to the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria to “at this stage, consider taking immediate steps as appropriate to ensure the setting up or designation of Special Courts in all States, including the FCT, to try cases of armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping and other serious offences, in order to facilitate speedy trials.”

“There is the need to ensure that the Chief Judges of States and FCT High Courts direct lower courts to comply with requirements of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law in issuing remand warrants in criminal cases especially in cases which are not within their jurisdiction.”NCDC@NCDCgov · 

117 new cases of #COVID19 have been reported;

59 in Lagos
29 in FCT
14 in Kano
6 in Borno
4 in Katsina
3 in Ogun
1 in Rivers
1 in Bauchi

As at 11:25 pm 21st April there are 782 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria.

Discharged: 197
Deaths: 25

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NCDC@NCDCgov

As at 11:25 pm 21st April, breakdown of cases by states:

Lagos-430
FCT-118
Kano-73
Osun-20
Ogun-20
Oyo-16
Katsina-16
Edo-15
Kwara-9
Kaduna-9
Akwa Ibom-9
Borno-9
Bauchi-8
Gombe-5
Delta-4
Ekiti-4
Ondo-3
Rivers-3
Jigawa-2
Enugu-2
Niger-2
Abia-2
Benue-1
Anambra-1
Sokoto-12,843Twitter Ads info and privacy2,922 people are talking about this

April 21: Cases at 665, Kano climbing, Abba Kyari funeral gaffe apology

As at 11:10 pm 20th April there are 665 confirmed cases were reported with a total of thirty-eight new cases. The tally of which were as follows: 23 in Kano, 5 in Gombe, 3 in Kaduna, 2 each in Borno
and Abia and a case each in FCT, Sokoto and Ekiti. Discharged: 188, Deaths: 22.

Kano state thus becomes the new “poster boy” of the virus with a tally that stands at 59 behind FCT’s 89 and Lagos’ 376. The state is currently under lockdown as a measure to curtail spread of the virus, one death has so far been registered.

A media aide to the state governor bemoaned on Twitter how a section of the population continued to flout stay at home regulations. His post in Hausa indicated that the violators included the rich and poor alike.

April 20: Cases at 627, Borno records case, Adeboye’s prophecy

As at 11:50 pm 19th April there are 627 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Nigeria, the NCDC reported. The figure included eighty-six new cases from the previous figure of 541. The tally of discharged people stood at 170 with deaths at 21.

The new cases included 70 in Lagos, 7 in FCT, 3 in Katsina, 3 in Akwa Ibom, 1 in Jigawa, 1 in Bauchi and 1 in Borno. Jigawa and Borno becoming the latest states to record cases.

Meanwhile, a renowned preacher general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, says Nigeria will recover from COVID-19 before the rest of the world.

Enoch Adeboye, in a broadcast to church members on Sunday, said Nigeria has begun its journey to normalcy. “I believe that I have good news for us. I believe that the journey to normalcy has started,” Adeboye said.

April 18: Abba Kyari succumbs to COVID-19

A top aide to Nigerian president has died from COVID-19, the president’s spokesperson confirmed in the early hours of Saturday.

“The Presidency regrets to announce the passage of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari. The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19, and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April 17, 2020,” a statement from spokesman Garba Shehu read in part.

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