COVID-19 claims 11 lives on Friday

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed that 11 patients died from coronavirus (COVID-19) on Friday in Nigeria.

The NCDC, which made this known via its verified website on Saturday morning, said the country’s fatality toll from the pandemic now stood at 2,211.

The agency added that the country logged 636 additional infections on Friday, 117 fewer than the 753 cases recorded on Thursday. COVID-19 cumulative cases now stand at 181,297.

According to the NCDC, the additional 636 infections were confirmed in 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Lagos State, the epicentre of the COVID-19 in Nigeria, recorded the lion share on Friday with 291 cases, followed by Rivers with 117 cases.

Taraba state registered 58; Akwa Ibom 54; Kwara 28; Ekiti and Ogun recorded 14 infections each.

The FCT recorded 13 new cases; Oyo State 11; Edo 9; Osun 6; Bayelsa 5; Delta and Gombe 4 each; Abia and Plateau 3 each and Sokoto State 1.

The agency points out that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 2 is coordinating the national response activities.

The NCDC said that since the outbreak of the pandemic in Nigeria in February 2020, it had tested more than 2,589,130, samples for the disease.

It noted that 12,366 cases were still active in the country with many being managed at accredited isolation centres while others were being managed at home.

It disclosed that a total of 149 patients recovered from the disease and were discharged from various isolation centres on Friday.

The NCDC put the total recoveries nationwide since the onset of the pandemic at 166,709.