- NCDC gives new guidelines on conduct of elections
Nigeria’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) rate continues its upward swing with 575 new cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 29,286.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said via its official Twitter handle that out of the total number of 29,286 confirmed cases, 11,828 cases have been treated and discharged while 654 deaths have been recorded in 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The agency said that the 575 new cases were reported from 20 States, namely, Lagos (123), FCT (100), Delta (58), Edo (52), Ogun (42), Katsina (24), Bayelsa (23), Rivers (22), Borno (19) and Plateau (18).
Others include Ondo (18), Oyo (17), Kwara (15), Osun (13), Enugu (9), Nasarawa (7), Abia (6), Cross River (5), Kaduna (3) and Ekiti (1).
Meanwhile, ahead of the Edo and Ondo States governorship elections, NCDC has advised politicians to use media channels like radio, television and social media to campaign for votes.
The advice is contained in its newly published guidelines for elections.
The NCDC said the use of these channels, rather than the previous methods of canvassing for votes which involves mass gathering, would help check the spread of COVID-19 infections.
It also called for careful adherence to mass gathering guideline.
According to the NCDC, “We urge our politicians to take responsibility and lead by example.
“We ask you to please think of the lives of the electorates first. Your electorates, staying alive, is much more important than any vote you can win. The guideline is to support critically, Nigerians that will be going to vote.
“The virus thrives in mass gathering and there is a challenge that we have in the way we have conducted our elections before, during and post. In this guideline, we try and offer advice on how to do this safely.”
