Nigeria’s daily toll of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) hit a new high of 745 new cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 18,480.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said through its official Twitter handle that on Thursday, out of the 18,480 confirmed cases, 11,698 were active cases, 6,307 cases were treated and discharged and 475 deaths recorded in 35 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The health agency said that 106,006 samples were collected for testing in Nigeria as of Thursday.
NCDC said that the 745 new COVID-19 cases were from 21 States of the federation while six deaths were recorded.
A breakdown shows that Lagos remains the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria with 280 new cases, followed by Oyo with 103 new infections.
The breakdown shows that Ebonyi had 72 infections, FCT (60), Imo (46), Edo (34), Delta (33), Rivers (25) , Kaduna (23), Ondo (16), Katsina (12), Kano (10), Bauchi (8), Borno (7), Kwara (5), Gombe (4), Sokoto (2), Enugu (2), Yobe (1), Osun (1) and Nasarawa (1).
The NCDC called on Nigerians not to ignore the symptoms of sudden loss of taste and smell with fever, headache or runny nose as it might be COVID-19, saying those with such symptoms should call their State hotlines immediately to arrange for a test.
The health agency said every treatment regiment to be used in Nigeria’s response to COVID-19 must be supported by science.
NCDC said that Nigerians should avoid sharing items at their place of worship including books, mats, microphones, kettles etc.
It, however, advised Nigerians that they should remember that it was better to worship at home and avoid mass gatherings to reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19.