Usman Aliyu-Abuja
Nigeria recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases on the day the nation eased the lockdown regulations in major cities across the country with the figure for Monday at 245.
The new figure released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday night sums up the total tally for the country to 2,802, the agency disclosed..
“On the 4th of May, 245 new confirmed cases and 6 deaths were recorded in Nigeria,” it said.
An analysis of the new cases revealed that Lagos leads with 79 cases, followed by Katsina 37, Jigawa 32, Kano 23 and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with 19 cases.
On Monday, 16 states reported at least a case of the virus.
“245 new cases of #COVID19 reported; 76-Lagos, 37- Katsina, 32 – Jigawa, 23 – Kano, 19 – FCT, 18- Borno, 10 – Edo, 9 – Bauchi, 6 – Adamawa, Oyo and Ogun reported 5 cases , Ekiti, Osun, Benue, Niger and Zamfara reported one case each.
“As at 11 :46 pm 4 May – 2802 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Discharged: 417 Deaths: 93,” the health agency disclosed on its official social media handle.
The 245 cases on Monday brings the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 2,802 including 417 patients who have been discharged after recovery, and 93 deaths.
Analysis
Nigeria has so far tested 18,536 persons since the beginning of the pandemic in the nation.
A breakdown of the 2,802 confirmed cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 1,183 cases, followed by Kano – 365, FCT – 297, Borno – 100, Gombe – 96, Kaduna – 81, Ogun – 85, Bauchi – 80, Sokoto – 66, Edo – 62, Katsina – 83, Osun – 37, Oyo and Jigawa – 39, Delta – 17, Kwara and Akwa Ibom – 16, Rivers – 14, Yobe, Zamfara and Ondo – 13, Ekiti, Adamawa, Kebbi – 13,Nasarawa – 11, Enugu and Taraba – 8, Ebonyi and Baylsa – 5, Plateau – 3, Niger – 4, Imo, Benue and Abia – 2 while Anambra has one case.
The number of infected people in the country is expected to rise as the country has entered into the community transmission phase. The country has also increased its testing capacity.
Lockdown Ease
After five weeks of a lockdown of three major cities – Lagos, Ogun and Abuja – the government eased the lockdown on Monday and replaced it with a night curfew.
The government also announced mandatory safety precautions including wearing of face masks and social distancing.
However,situation reports revealed thae the regulations were largely flouted in the major cities as thousands converged at banks , bus stops and other major public places.
The government Monday evening admitted the violations and appealed to residents to comply with the directives so as to limit the spread of coronavirus.