COVID-19: FG warns Nigerians, expect more coronavirus cases
- Nigeria is expected to witness more cases of coronavirus, according to the federal government
- The minister of health said managers of the disease are already seeing signs of community transmission
- Osagie Ehanire also announced that plans are already in place to start producing essential items locally
The federal government has told Nigerians to expect more cases of the global pandemic called coronavirus as contact tracing and testing capacity are being increased.
This is coming as confirmed cases of COVID-19 continued to rise hitting 184 on Thursday, April 2, with 10 new cases. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a tweet stated that seven of the new cases were detected in Lagos state, while three were confirmed in Abuja.
Osagie Ehanire, the minister of health, who made an appearance on a live TV news programme, said managers of the pandemic have started seeing early signs of community transmission in Nigeria.
The minister speaking during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Abuja also said plans were in place to start producing masks and other essential items locally.
Source: Twitter
Meanwhile, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the director-general of the NCDC confirmed that 71% of the 6,000 contacts who had been exposed to the virus have been traced and reached.
The NCDC boss went on to note that the agency had scaled up its capacity to conduct tests and produce results more quickly as demanded by Nigerians.
The criteria for who should be tested has been expanded by NCDC, it would include testing of everyone with symptoms of fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing, as well as a history of travelling to an area where cases were endemic or close contact with an infected patient.
He further said expanding the number of laboratories that could test for COVID-19 was critical to getting a more accurate understanding of how the diseases spread.
Ihekweazu urged Nigerians to continue thinking ahead about ways to stay healthy and prevent the spread of the virus.
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Legit.ng previously reported that the NCDC has confirmed six new cases of COVID-19, as Nigeria's total number of cases soared to 190. According to the NCDC, the new cases were all reported in Osun state.
"Six new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Osun State, Nigeria. As at 11:00 am 3rd April there are 190 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Twenty have been discharged with two deaths," the NCDC tweeted.
In a related development, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state who is also the incident commander of the #Covid19Lagos has announced the recovery and discharge of 11 more patients from the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, after testing negative twice.
Nigerian Tribune reports that the patients comprised nine males and two females, making the number of those who have recovered to 18. Legit.ng gathered that the governor said he was very happy to break the news to the good people of the state.
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Source: Legit.ng
