Nigeria Records 226 New COVID-19 Cases, Total Infections Now 6,401

Nigeria has recorded 226 new cases of the COVID-19, bringing the country’s total number of infections to 6,401.

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) announced this late on Tuesday.

According to the agency, of the 226 new cases, 131 are in Lagos, 25 are in Ogun, while 15 are in Plateau state.

Other states that have recorded new cases include Edo with 11 cases, Kaduna with seven, Oyo with six, the FCT and Adamawa with five each, Jigawa, Ebonyi and Borno with four each, Nasarawa with three cases, Bauchi and Gombe with two each and one each in Enugu and Bayelsa states.

A total of 1,734 persons have, however, recovered from the virus while the death toll now stands at 192.

226 new cases of #COVID19;

131-Lagos
25-Ogun
15-Plateau
11-Edo
7-Kaduna
6-Oyo
5-FCT
5-Adamawa
4-Jigawa
4-Ebonyi
4-Borno
3-Nasarawa
2-Bauchi
2-Gombe
1-Enugu
1-Bayelsa

6401 cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria
Discharged: 1734
Deaths: 192 pic.twitter.com/KJeNRAKFVG

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 19, 2020

Meanwhile, Lagos has remained the epicenter of the virus with a total of 2,755 cases and closely followed by Kano and the FCT with 842 and 427 cases respectively.

Although the number of cases continues to rise with community transmissions, Lagos State, in particular, has recorded some wins in the fight against the pandemic.

So far, a total of 623 patients have been discharged from isolation centers across the state. On Tuesday alone, nine persons were discharged.

In addition to the recoveries and discharges, some pregnant patients have also successfully given birth to their babies.

On Tuesday, one of the COVID-19 patients gave birth to a set of twins at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), bringing the total number of births by COVID-19 patients in the hospital to four.

Last Saturday, another patient also successfully gave birth at the Gbagada Isolation Center – a feat which the government says is another validation of its position to stamp out coronavirus from the state.

As health experts across the country continue to seek solutions to the virus, the Federal Government has said that it would not lift the lockdown measures that had been imposed two weeks ago.

Instead, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 announced that the gradual easing of the lockdown would be extended by two weeks, maintaining restrictions such as the closure of schools, airports and religious centres.

“The reality is that in spite of the modest progress made, Nigeria is not yet ready for full opening of the economy and tough decisions have to be taken for the good of the greater majority,” Chairman of the Task Force, Boss Mustapha said during a briefing on Monday in Abuja.

“Any relaxation will only portend grave danger for our populace. Advisedly, the current phase of eased restriction will be maintained for another two weeks during which stricter enforcement and persuasion measures will be pursued.”

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 316,333 people worldwide since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1900 GMT Monday.

At least 4,759,650 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 1,711,900 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 as many countries are testing only the most serious cases.

Countries like Madagascar, have, however, begun to explore herbal options.

The country has officially reported 183 coronavirus infections and 105 recoveries, with one death.

According to its president, Andry Rajoelina, patients who had recovered, were cured only through the administration of the ‘COVID-Organics’.

He referred to the remedy as “an improved traditional medicine”, adding that Madagascar was not conducting clinical trials but “clinical observations” in accordance with WHO guidelines.

The remedy which is in form of a drink is derived from artemisia — a plant with proven anti-malarial properties — and other indigenous herbs.

According to Rajoelina, it cures patients within 10 days of being taken.

Already Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Tanzania have taken delivery of consignments of the potion, which was launched last month.

Nigeria, on the other hand, also received samples of the remedy on Saturday.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who confirmed this in a series of tweets, noted that the samples were brought by the President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Embalo, who met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House.

However, according to Garba, President Buhari reiterated that all necessary procedures will be put in place before allowing traditional or any new medicines to be administered on Nigerians.

“We have our institutions, systems and processes in the country. Any such formulations should be sent to them for verification. I will not put it to use without the endorsement of our institutions,” the president was quoted to have said.