The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said that 454 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country on Friday, urging all Nigerians to take responsibility to protect themselves, their loved ones and the elderly around them and in the society “because COVID -19 is real.”
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, making the protection of the elderly imperative.
The NCDC said via its official Twitter handle that the 454 new cases recorded on Friday brings Nigeria’s total confirmed COVID-19 infections to 27,564.
Out of the total confirmed cases of 27,564, 11,069 cases have been treated and discharged while 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).
The NCDC, in announcing that it is serving as co-lead of Africa Center for Disease Control’s COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Working Group, explained that the group is charged “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.”
Noting 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.
Globally, Coronavirus cases have surpassed 11 million worldwide as the outbreak continues to surge in several countries including the United States, where case numbers tallied their largest single day total, topping 57,000 on Friday.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) urged countries hit by serious coronavirus outbreaks to “wake up” to the realities on the ground instead of bickering, and to “take control” of the pandemic.