The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) last night released its latest figures on the Coronavirus pandemic to show that 20 more Nigerians have been afflicted with the Covid-19 disease and that 10 have succumbed to it.

With 20 new cases reported last night, 13 April 2020, the number of Covid-19 infections in Nigeria grew to 343, still considered a marginal increase.

The figures however also show that the number of Nigerians that have recovered from Covid-19 attack rose to 91 while deaths from the disease remain relatively low.

The rate of recoveries – as a percentage of total reported cases in Nigeria – is now an incredible 27 percent, up from just 5 percent that was reported at the beginning of the month.

This figure, in other words, suggests that more than one-quarter of infected citizens can hope to recover, as federal and state authorities step up their testing and cure, as well as lockdown monitoring and enforcement activities to rein in the virus and frustrate its further spread.

Many citizens continue to fear a possible surge in the number of cases but both federal and state authorities have launched offensives to curtal the spread of the Coronavirus, which has so far made a landfall in half of Nigeria’s 36 States in Nigeria, and in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

From the broadcast speech of President Buhari to the nation last night, federal authorities will continue to treat Lagos, its close border state of Ogun, and the FCT as epicentres of the pandemic, with security forces deployed to enforce lockdown which has been extended to a further two-week period.

Author

  • Ogbuagu Bob Anikwe, a veteran journalist and message development specialist, is now a community journalism advocate and publisher of Enugu Metro. Contact him on any of the channels below.

Share this knowledge