Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced yesterday 31 May that 307 new cases of Covid19 have been uncovered nationwide, closing infections figure in May 2020 alone at 8,230 cases nationwide.
April 2020 had closed at 1,794 cases – which means that the May figure of 8,230 cases is more than four-and-a-half times the number of infected persons in the previous month.
Altogether, Nigeria has so far confirmed a total of 10,162 cases of Covid-19, out of which 3,007 have been discharged while 287 persons succumbed to the disease.
Deaths through Covid19 attacks also multiplied more than four times in May 2020, compared to what was witnessed in the previous month of April (see table).
As a result of this high surge in May, experts are hoping that the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic may have been reached in the month that ended yesterday.
The spike in cases and deaths are propelled by Lagos State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kano State, all three of which account for two-thirds of Nigerian cases reported to date.
Lagos State alone, however, accounts for more than half of all cases confirmed in Nigeria – 4,943 out of 9,855 cases – a situation that triggered the #LagosLeads which trended on Twitter for a while.
The State has maintained the lead since Nigeria recorded her index case of Covid-19, identified as a 44-year old Italian citizen who was diagnosed in the same Lagos State on 27 February 2020.
Federal health authorities said he arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 10pm on 24th February 2020 aboard Turkish airline from Milan, Italy.
“He traveled on to his company site in Ogun state on 25 February (and) on 26 February, he presented at the staff clinic.”
His symptoms forced the doctor who attended to him to refer him to the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Lagos for testing and was confirmed positive on 27 February.
Nigeria dithered over decision to close borders and airports, leading to influx of travelers some of who had already contracted the virus abroad.
Most of the 138 persons diagnosed in March with the viral disease known as Covid-19 had travel histories.
It was this group that began spreading the virus through contact, from Mid-March up until April when governments began to seriously implement containment measures.
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