Highlights of COVID-19 Third Wave in Nigeria

03 Aug Highlights of COVID-19 Third Wave in Nigeria

Nigeria now experiencing third wave of COVID-19, Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, says, citing available data.  “All data indicate that we are now no doubt in the third wave of resurgence of the SARS-COV-2 infection, which we saw coming long ago,” he said.

* The devil is found in the details as Nigeria recorded 11 additional deaths and 444 new cases on Monday.  There are now 174, 759 confirmed cases,   165, 037 recoveries and 2,160 deaths.

The 444 new cases are reported from 13 states: Lagos (275), Rivers (63), Akwa Ibom (62), Gombe (22), Ogun (8), FCT (4), Edo (3), Imo (2), Kano (1), Nasarawa (1), Sokoto (1), Jigawa (1), Ebonyi (1)

* The Federal Government has confirmed 32 cases of Delta Variant of COVID-19, bringing the country officially into the third wave of the pandemic. The Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chike Ihekweazu, said 80 percent of the tests conducted in Akwa Ibom State have been confirmed to be Delta variant of the deadly virus.

He said, “As of this morning (Monday), 32 confirmed cases of the Delta variant are in Nigeria from five states, Abuja, Oyo,  Cross River, Lagos and Akwa Ibom. Some of these have been returning travellers, some of the local transmissions.

* The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of PSC on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said the government will not hesitate to introduce stringent measures to protect citizens, even as he stressed that how long mask-wearing will continue is in the hands of Nigerians.

He said, “Nothing is off the table. Let me say very categorically, nothing is off the table when it comes to protecting the lives of the people of this country. We will not hesitate in taking measures that will be considered quite stringent.”

* Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama says, diplomats from Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey will, henceforth, be asked to quarantine in government-approved facilities.  “All diplomats coming from any of those four countries within the last 14 days have to, we’re afraid, quarantine in approved government facilities,” he said.

“The only exemption or waiver from this would be for the ambassador of a particular country, and his or her spouse, and the deputy ambassador.

* Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says with a daily average of six deaths have been recorded in isolation centres within the past week, while over 4,000 new infections were confirmed in July, the state should be worried. He asked residents of the state to ensure strict adherence to the COVID protocol, considering the recent increase in the number of infections and deaths,

* The Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), yesterday, said that the four million and eighty doses (4,000,080) of the Modena vaccine donated by the U.S. Government would undergo National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s (NAFDAC) efficacy test and evaluation before being administered to Nigerians and it  would take up to 48 hours for the results to be out.