COVID-19: NCDC reports 454 new cases of infection

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 454 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

The information is on the centre’s official Twitter page on Friday night.

It was reported that with the latest cases, Nigeria’s total infections now stands at 27,564.

The health agency said that no new state reported a case in the last 24 hours.

According to it, till date, 27,564 cases have been confirmed, 11,069 cases have been discharged and 628 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The NCDC said that the 454 new cases were reported from 19 states, namely: Lagos (87), Edo (63), FCT (60), Ondo (41), Benue (32), Abia (31), Ogun (29), Oyo (19), Kaduna (17), Delta (16), Enugu (15), Borno (14), Plateau (9), Nasarawa (8), Kano (5), Bauchi (4), Gombe (2), Katsina (1), Kogi (1).

Meanwhile, the health agency said that at least, one out of every 10 persons over 50 years old who had COVID-19 died from it in the country.

The NCDC urged Nigerians to take responsibility to protect themselves , their loved ones and the elderly around them and in the society “because COVID-19 is real”.

NCDC announced that it also served as co-lead of Africa Center for Disease Control’s COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Working Group.

It explained that “our responsibility is to work with Africa CDC to train frontline health workers across Africa and provide guidance based on evidence to protect them from COVID-19 infection.

“With support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and West Africa Healh Organisation (WAHO), the Africa CDC IPC Working Group trained over 3,000 healthcare workers in four months on public health safety measures

“We’ve developed guidance on proper use of face masks, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and environmental decontamination.”

It emphasised that health workers were critical to the COVID-19 response.

The NCDC also stated that the team recognised the work done in often difficult circumstances, with concurrent outbreaks happening in some African countries.

It added that the agency was committed to working with the Africa CDC to empower health workers and prioritise their safety.