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    Tuesday, June 9, 2020

    COVID-19 Cases Hit 13, 464 as Nigeria Records 663 New Infections

    The figures of the novel coronavirus cases in Nigeria have continued to rise as confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria hit 13,464 after 663 people tested positive in 24 hours. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) made the disclosure on Tuesday via it officially Twitter handle.

    The total figure of patients recovered from the virus infections and discharged after tested negative to the virus increased from 4040 to 4206 While the death toll from coronavirus in the country rose from 361 to 365.

    According to the data released by NCDC, the 663 new cases are reported from 25 states and Federal Capital Territory. Lagos led with 170 cases of the virus infections, while Ogun came second with 108 cases, and Bauchi State in the third position with 69.

    Other state with new cases of the virus infections: Ebonyi-49, Edo-33, Rivers-30, FCT-26
    Jigawa-26, Delta-20, Anambra-17, Gombe-16, Kano-16, Imo-15, Abia-14, Borno-11, Oyo-11, Plateau-8, Kebbi-6, Kaduna-6, Ondo-4, Niger-2, Katsina-2, Osun-1, Ekiti-1, Kwara-1 and Nasarawa-1.

    There was an increase in the number of infections [663] reported on Tuesday compared to the number [315] reported Monday.

    Nigeria has so far tested 79,948 persons since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced on 27 February 2020.

    According to the agency, Lagos remains the epicentre of the viral infection with total of 6,065 cases, followed by Kano and FTC with 1,020, 1,012 case respectively.

    On the 9th of June 2020, 663 new confirmed cases and 4 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.
    No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours.
    Till date, 13464 cases have been confirmed, 4206 cases have been discharged and 365 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
    Meanwhile, the NCDC has advised people that have other health conditions like diabetes, cancer and hypertension as well as those with weak immune systems to take necessary precautionary measures such as wearing masks in public and maintaining social distancing as they are at a higher risk of getting infected with COVID-19.

    Also, NCDC says it has activated three additional laboratories, bringing the total number that can carry out PCR testing for Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Nigeria to 33.

    Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General of NCDC, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that the health agency had stayed on track in its goal to rapidly scale up laboratory testing for COVID-19 in Nigeria.

    Ihekweazu mentioned the three new laboratories as: Biorepository and Clinical Virology Laboratory UCH, Ibadan, Oyo; Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Infectious Disease Unit, General Hospital, Ituk Mkpang, Akwa-Ibom and Jigawa State Molecular Laboratory, Dutse.

    He said that NCDC was currently using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method to test for the COVID-19 virus, in the absence of validated alternative methods.

    “At the moment, the COVID-19 tests that we report daily are coming from the PCR, they detect the genetic information of the virus and the RNA. That’s only possible if the virus is there and someone is actively infected.

    “By detecting viral RNA, the tests can tell whether or not someone has the virus very early on,” he explained.

    The director-general said that PCR remained the most accurate method to determine who was infected.

    Ihekweazu noted that by scaling up on laboratory testing, the NCDC and other relevant government institutions would get a better understanding of the level of spread of the virus.

    ”By the end of June, our goal is to include at least 10 more laboratories with current Gene-Xpert capacity in the network for COVID-19 testing,” Ihekweazu said.

    The director-general noted that PCR tests could be very labour intensive, with several stages at which errors might occur between sampling and analysis.

    ”This is why the agency has focussed on strengthening quality assurance in its network of laboratories.

    “Countries have adopted varying strategies for COVID-19 diagnosis, and for us in Nigeria, it is important that we get it right.

    “Nigeria has its national testing strategy for COVID-19 with detailed information on how we will ramp-up testing for various phases of transmission by leveraging existing capacity and technology.

    “We are thinking ahead and also have plans in place to meet the demands for testing at various points of the response,” he said.
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