Nigeria has confirmed 14 new cases of coronavirus.
The announcement Thursday night by the National Centre for Disease Control takes the total number of confirmed cases to 65.
It is the highest number of cases confirmed so far by the body in a single day.
“14 new cases of #COVID19 have been confirmed in Nigeria: 2 in FCT, 12 in Lagos,” NCDC tweeted at 8.35P.M.
“Of the 14, 6 were detected on a vessel, 3 are returning travellers into Nigeria & 1 is close contact of a confirmed case
“As at 7:35 pm 26th March, there are
“65 confirmed cases
3 discharged
1 death.”
The number of new cases has been rising in the country in the last two weeks. Lagos State still records the highest number of confirmed cases in the country.
The breakdown of cases by states shows that Lagos has 44 cases, FCT – 12, Ogun – three, while Ekiti, Oyo, Edo, Bauchi, Osun, and Rivers have one case each
The NCDC said further epidemiological information will be shared in its daily situation report, collated at midnight of each day.
Outbreak
Most of the cases confirmed in the country are returnees from countries with high burden of coronavirus.
Earlier on Thursday, the minister of information Lai Mohammed, and his health counterpart, Osagie Ehanire, lamented that most of the returnees have not been following the advisory of self isolation after returning from overseas travels.
Some returnees who flouted the advisory and later tested positive for Covid-19 are top government officials. These include President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, and the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed.
Measures
While contact tracing and testing of suspected persons are still ongoing, public health experts have said Nigeria should be prepared for more cases.
To contain the spread, the federal government has banned international travels while various state governments have restricted public gatherings, closed schools, markets and other public places.
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