The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 revealed on Monday that Nigeria lost 405 persons to coronavirus in the last two months.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) also revealed that 75 health workers were infected last week.
Atleast seven cases of the UK variant of COVID-19 have been identified in the country as stated by the federal government.
The presidential task force on COVID-19 described Kogi state as a high-risk state despite the denial of the existence of the deadly virus by the state governor, Yahaya Bello.
it also listed 22 high-burden council areas, some of them in Lagos State, and hinted of a likely suspension of flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and The Netherlands.
PTF Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, said the fatality rate is 34 per cent higher.
According to him, COVID-19-related deaths increased from 1,173 as at last November 29 to 1,578 on January 31.
The SGF spoke during a sensitisation meeting on COVID-19 vaccine introduction with leaders of the Christian Association Of Nigeria (CAN) and scholars in Abuja.
He said: “The global infections have exceeded 100 million, while fatalities have also crossed the two million mark.
“Unfortunately, Nigeria, like the rest of the world, is now experiencing a more virulent second wave, which has increased the number of COVID-19 related deaths from 1,173 on November 29, 2020, to 1,578 on January 31, 2021, an increase of 34 per cent.
“The number of infections has also grown, tremendously.”
Mustapha said the arrival of vaccines has, however, given hope to humanity, adding that the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) will not be discarded.
He said from now on, the national response strategy would be a combination of the NPIs and the vaccines.
“I wish to make it abundantly clear that nobody is safe around the world until everyone is vaccinated,” Mustapha said.
He noted a lack of compliance with the NPIs even among church leaders and the very low testing, which limits detection
The Federal Government said the Africa Centre for Excellence in Genomics in Ede, identified five new COVID-19 variants in Osun, one in Kwara and one in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The government urged health workers to increase their index of suspicion for COVID-19, as the new variant has been identified with the increased transmission.
