By Akanimo Sampson
More than 50,000 human lives have so far been lost to the rampaging coronavirus pandemic globally after Italy announced 760 new fatalities in 24 hours.
In Nigeria, 10 new cases have been recorded with the total national figures now 184. The figure is rising on a daily basis.
However, the good news in Nigeria is that 11 more people have recovered from the killer virus and have been discharged in Lagos State. With that, the total number of people discharged in the country is 20, with two deaths recorded.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State announced this cheery news in a series of tweets on Thursday, disclosing that two females and nine males have fully recovered and have tested negative for COVID-19, weeks after they tested positive for the disease.
Following their recovery, the governor says they have been discharged from the government facility in Yaba to return home to their respective families.
According to the governor, community infections have begun to surface, and as a result, he is calling for more vigilance, giving an assurance that with the support of the people, Lagos and Nigeria, in general, will hoist a flag of victory over coronavirus.
In the meantime, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says seven of the new cases were recorded in Lagos and three in Abuja.
“Ten new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Nigeria; seven in Lagos and three in the FCT. As of 08:00 pm April 2, there are 184 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Nigeria. Twenty have been discharged with two deaths,” NCDC says.
While NCDC had on Wednesday announced 23 cases in Nigeria, half of humanity is under confinement as governments around the world scramble to contain the spread of the virus.
More than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries have now been asked or ordered to stay at home by their governments.
Also, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases passed the one million mark on Thursday evening. But, more than 200,000 have recovered from the disease.
While it is more grim news from Italy on the fatalities front, there is a glimmer of hope that containment measures are paying off. The number of daily new infections now stands at 4,668, down from 6,153 a week ago.
Pressure on hospitals in hard-hit Lombardy continued to ease, with more than 800 people recovered and 165 fewer people hospitalised with COVID-19 compared to a day earlier.
Agency reports say intensive care units are still saturated, but overall, Lombardy added just under 1,300 new positive cases, with about half of those infected being treated at home.
Over 10,000 medical personnel have been infected nationwide and 69 doctors have died, according to the National Institutes of Health and the Italian association of doctors.
Spain’s death count has passed the 10,000 marks as a record 950 new COVID-19 victims were announced.
While announcing 471 new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday evening, France revealed at least 884 of its total 4,503 fatalities had occurred in old people’s homes.
