Although February started on a relatively lighter note with less than 1,000 new infections — compared to the previous month — it was a different story 24 hours later, as the country’s single-day count of coronavirus cases increased by over 100 percent.
On February 1, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported 676 new infections — the country’s lowest single-day tally in the past four weeks.
But on Tuesday, there was a 142 percent daily count increase, as 1,634 new infections were reported by the agency, across 25 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
Lagos, the epicentre of the pandemic, recorded the highest number of new cases with 440 infections, followed by Anambra with 160, while the FCT recorded 158 positive samples.
Other states that confirmed infections are: Rivers (134), Abia (103), Oyo (90), Enugu (81), Osun (73), Gombe (54), Kwara (50), Ogun (32), Plateau (32), Akwa Ibom (31), Ondo (24), Borno (23), Delta (23), Ebonyi (21), Taraba (21), Bayelsa (16), Kaduna (15), Nasarawa (13), Jigawa (12), Bauchi (11), Kano (11), Zamfara (4) and Sokoto (2).
However, the number of new recoveries stayed on the high side with 1,276 patients discharged on Tuesday.
According to the NCDC, the number of discharged patients confirmed on Tuesday included 551 community recoveries in Lagos state, 213 in Kaduna, and 103 in Kano.
With the Tuesday figure, over 8,000 new recoveries have been recorded within the past seven days.
Meanwhile, the casualty toll for Tuesday was six, bringing the current total number of deaths to 1,613.
1634 new cases of #COVID19;
Lagos-440
Anambra-160
FCT-158
Rivers-134
Abia-103
Oyo-90
Enugu-81
Osun-73
Gombe-54
Kwara-50
Ogun-32
Plateau-32
Akwa Ibom-31
Ondo-24
Borno-23
Delta-23
Ebonyi-21
Taraba-21
Bayelsa-16
Kaduna-15
Nasarawa-13
Jigawa-12
Bauchi-11
Kano-11
Zamfara-4
Sokoto-2

The Cable