For the first time, Nigeria recorded 204 coronavirus cases yesterday across 17 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
The figure surpassed Wednesday’s tally of 196.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said in its late night tweet that Kano State recorded 80 of the 204 cases recorded while Lagos had 45.
Thursday’s 204 cases bring the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,932 with 58 fatalities, up from 51 on Wednesday.
“204 new cases of #COVID19 reported; 80-Kano 45-Lagos 12-Gombe 9-Bauchi 9-Sokoto 7-Borno 7-Edo 6-Rivers 6-Ogun 4-FCT 4-Akwa Ibom 4-Bayelsa 3-Kaduna 2-Oyo 2-Delta 2-Nasarawa 1-Ondo 1-Kebbi 11:50pm 30th April- 1932 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria Discharged: 319 Deaths: 58,” the NCDC wrote on its Twitter handle late Thursday night.
A summary of all the 1,932 cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 976 cases, followed by Kano – 219, FCT – 178, Borno – 66, Gombe – 76, Ogun – 56, Osun – 34, Katsina – 40, Edo – 44, Bauchi – 38, Oyo – 23, Sokoto – 36, Kaduna – 35, Akwa Ibom – 16, Rivers – 13, Kwara – 11, Ondo – 9, Ekiti, and Taraba – 8, Delta – 9, Enugu – 3, Jigawa – 7, Niger – 2, Ebonyi – 2, Adamawa – 2, Kebbi–2, Bayelsa – 3, Nasarawa – 3, Abia – 2, and Zamfara – 4. Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Yobe and Imo have one case each.
Meanwhile, the minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire said the number of health workers infected by coronavirus had increased from 40 reported last week to 113.
Ehanire who disclosed this at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing in Abuja yesterday however, he said most of the health workers including doctors were from private hospitals and clinics.
He said health workers treat coronavirus patients in private hospitals and clinics without taking the necessary precautions and without the necessary training, thereby putting themselves and their families at risk of contracting the virus.
“As for the over 300 doctors infected by Covid-19 that’s a fable. It is not true. There are not so many people in the health sector who are infected. Latest figure we have is that there are about 113 and these 113 are not all public health workers.
“A good number of them are from private hospitals and if you hear us speaking here frequently against trying to treat coronavirus in private clinics we are actually referring to people who do so without having the necessary precautions, without having the necessary training. Because they risk infecting themselves and they go home and give this infection to their family. That is not the right thing.
“The healthcare workers who have no training have no business actually handling coronavirus. As for those who do not have the necessary equipment, we have said that we have provided personal protective equipment (PPE) for those who are out there.
“There are one or two places where we have heard that there is tightness in supplies and we have tried to send them over there. But let me remind you again that there is a global shortage of PPEs.
“There is a global shortage. Many countries are struggling and hustling to PPEs, even for the gowns, for face masks and I reminded you of an argument between two world powers over 200 face masks if some of you read about it that were supposed to be delivered to one but ceased by the other.
“It tells you that these things are really scary and we are doing everything we can to make sure our frontline workers have requirements and that we also have a stockpile that we can send quickly,” he said.
