NEW COVID-19 cases in Lagos surged by 183, a record for the state
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed a total of 381 new cases for the day.
It is the largest number of cases to be confirmed in a day since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the country on February 27, 2020.
With 183 new cases, Lagos State’s total confirmed infections now stand at 1,491 and it remains the epicentre of the pandemic in Nigeria, accounting for 42.3 per cent of the country’s total cases.
The state has, however, received praise for its reaction to the pandemic from the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and many others.
It has also discharged 406 patients from its isolation and treatment centres.
Forty-eight of them were discharged earlier on Thursday.
There has been focus on Kano State recently as reports of mass deaths made the round and many Almajiri children sent from the state back to their states of origin tested positive for the virus.
A presidential panel had also gone to the state to investigate the deaths and their causes.
On Thursday, the NCDC confirmed 55 states for Kano, taking the state’s total infections to 482.
Meanwhile, there have been concerns about the level of compliance with the guidelines released by the Federal Government for easing the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory. There have also been concerns about the level of compliance with the interstate lockdown which is in effect.
President Muhammadu Buhari had announced the easing of the lockdown in all three places and imposed and interstate lockdown during his nationwide broadcast on Monday, April 27.
Many Nigerians have, however, failed to comply with the guidelines, prompting the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to warn that full lockdown could be reintroduced if violations continue.
During its briefing on Thursday, the PTF condemned what it said was the high level of compromise among some security officials in the enforcement
of the night curfew and the ban on interstate travel.
The task force also asked state governments to improve security and welfare at the various isolation and treatment centres across the country.
The call was in reaction to recent protests and cases of patients escaping from some isolation centres because of alleged poor treatment.
Since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the country on February 27, 3,525 more cases have been confirmed.
So far, 601 people have recovered from the virus and have been discharged while 107 people have sadly died
Forty-eight of them were discharged earlier on Thursday.
There has been focus on Kano State recently as reports of mass deaths