Considering the rising cases in the country, Nigeria appears to have also entered the second wave of the pandemic that has gripped much of the world already. This remains a major concern, as more Nigerians return home for the holiday from countries with high covid-19 cases.
Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, on Thursday declared that the country has been hit by the second wave of the virus.
SGF Mustapha stated this during the daily media briefing of the COVID-19 Task Force.
Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, who represented the COVID-19 positive SGF, said Nigeria has entered a second wave of infections and stands the risk of losing the gains from the hard work of the last nine months.
He stated that if Nigerians adhere to the Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) and step up testing and detection, loss of lives will be minimized and the rising curve will begin to flatten out.
According to him, while the country in the last two weeks on the one hand, received cheering news of the COVID-19 vaccine on the other hand, “we have witnessed spikes in number of infections at home and abroad. The real threat is upon humanity and the progress made in the global health sector in the last five decades or more.”
Sirika said Nigeria’s cumulative numbers in the last weeks of 49-51 showed: “Week 49 – 1,843; Week 50 – 3,918 and Week 51 (Mon-Wed): 1,889.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday evening, 17th December 2020, confirmed 1,145 new cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
The new cases of COVID-19 infection were confirmed via a statement on the official Twitter handle of the health agency and represent the country’s daily highest record since the outbreak of the virus.
This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria to 76,207 which includes 67,110 discharged cases and 1,201 deaths.