Akwa Ibom State on Thursday reported 20 new COVID-19 cases as Nigeria’s infections inches closer to 39,000.
With this number, the total tally of infections in the state now stands at 196.
In a tweet by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the country had recorded 604 fresh cases of the virus.
The data from the NCDC further showed that the latest COVID-19 infections were reported in 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with Lagos State, the country’s epicentre for the disease, having the highest number of infected people – 203.
A breakdown of the new cases of the pandemic in the country for the day showed they were distributed as thus: FCT – 79; Edo – 41; Osun – 35; Ogun – 24; Rivers – 22; Kaduna – 22; Akwa Ibom – 20; and Plateau – 18.
Others are Delta – 9; Ebonyi – 9; Imo – 8; Enugu – 5; and Kano – 5; Cross River – 5 Katsina – 4; Nasarawa – 3; Borno – 2; Ekiti – 2; and Bauchi – 1.
Of the 38,948 confirmed infected persons in the West African nation, 16,061 have been discharged while 833 deaths were recorded thus far.
Search For Solution
Earlier in the day, Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who also doubles as the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) said India had donated seven tonnes of hydroxychloroquine to Nigeria as part of efforts to help West African combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boss Mustapha said this on Thursday during a briefing by members of the task force.
According to him, the Nigerian government is grateful for the help from the India Government as well as other nations and organisations in the country’s fight against COVID-19.
“The PTF wishes to thank friendly nations and corporate organisations for their continuing support through the donation of medicines and equipment,” the SGF said.
“In this regard, we thank India for the donation of 7-tons of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of patients,” assuring that “the resources will be judiciously utilised.”
Global View
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 585,750 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1900 GMT on Thursday.
At least 13,660,780 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 7,442,700 are now considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.
Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases.
Since 1900 GMT on Wednesday, 5,604 new deaths and 236,985 new cases were recorded worldwide. The countries with the most new deaths were Brazil with 1,233 new deaths, followed by United States with 997, and India with 606.
The United States is the worst-hit country with 137,897 deaths from 3,536,658 cases. At least 1,075,882 people have been declared recovered.
After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 75,366 deaths from 1,966,748 cases, United Kingdom with 45,119 deaths from 2,925,52 cases, Mexico with 36,906 deaths from 317,635 cases, and Italy with 35,017 deaths from 243,736 cases.
The country with the highest number of deaths compared to its population is Belgium with 84 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by United Kingdom with 66, Spain 61, Italy 58, and Sweden 55.
China — excluding Hong Kong and Macau — has to date declared 83,612 cases (1 new since Wednesday), including 4,634 deaths and 78,719 recoveries.
Europe overall has 204,254 deaths from 2,897,157 cases, Latin America and the Caribbean 152,191 deaths from 3,566,152 infections, the United States and Canada 146,757 deaths from 3,645,740 cases, Asia 46,345 deaths from 1,906,655 cases, Middle East 21,752 deaths from 970,525 cases, Africa 14,309 deaths from 662,158 cases, and Oceania 142 deaths from 12,393 cases.
