Nigeria seems to be recording increasing numbers of COVID-19 deaths weekly, with 167 people dying from the pandemic in the last two weeks, according to a situation report by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Between February 1 to 7, the country recorded 81 deaths from 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Also, between February 8 to 14, a total of 86 deaths were recorded from 17 states. Last week’s mortality rate makes it the highest so far this year.
The report further showed that the number of cases has continued to decrease. The number of new confirmed cases decreased from 8,506 two weeks ago, to 6,606 last week in 32 states and the FCT.
However, the number of discharged cases decreased to 7,668 last week, from 8,536 two weeks ago.
The NCDC also recorded 645 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 151,553.
The country has tested 1,441,013 people since the COVID-19 index case was announced on Feb. 27, 2020.
The NCDC registered 18 COVID-19-related deaths on Saturday, raising the total fatalities in Nigeria to 1,831.
The health agency announced that 645 new infections were reported from 19 states and the FCT.
The agency said that Lagos State took the lead with 282 cases, Ogun had 72, the FCT reported 50, while Kaduna, Osun, and Imo reported 33, 24, and 23 cases respectively.
Other states with new infections are Abia (21), Borno (18), Oyo (17), Edo (15), Nasarawa (15), Taraba (14), Ekiti (11), Ondo (11), Plateau (11), Kano (10), Rivers (seven), Delta (five), Bauchi (three) and Jigawa (three).
The NCDC also stated that 505 COVID-19 have recovered from the ailment at the various isolation centres in the last 24 hours.
It also noted that those discharged included 222 community recoveries in Lagos State, managed in line with set guidelines.
Last week, the Federal Government urged Nigerians not to relax or be too quick to interpret the recent drop in COVID-19 cases to mean a decline in the rate of spread of the pandemic.
It, therefore, encouraged everyone to continue to observe and adhere to the non-pharmaceutical measures such as physical distancing, regular hand washing, use of hand sanitisers, observance of respiratory hygiene, avoiding crowded places and wearing appropriate face masks that also cover the noses.
Globally, according to recent reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of February 21, 2021, a total of 2,455,131 people have lost their lives, with 110,749,023 confirmed cases.