Nigeria, on Monday, recorded four new deaths and additional 584 newly confirmed cases across 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Nigeria had on Friday recorded 11 fatalities from the pandemic and reported eight on Saturday but reported none on Sunday before returning to the fatality chart on Monday.
The additional 584 cases reported on Monday are also slightly higher in number than the 541 figures reported a day earlier.
This is as the country resumed its suspended vaccinations against the pandemic on Monday, even as the government announced the expected arrival of additional 698,880 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Disease distribution
An update shared by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicates that the new cases were recorded across four of the country’s six geopolitical zones.
With a heavy presence in the South-west and South-south regions, cases were also reported from the North-central and North-west regions.
However, none of the states from the Northeast and South-east regions reported cases on Monday.
According to the disease centre’s update, Lagos and Rivers’s states reported the highest number of new infections on Monday with the former reporting 201 while the latter reported 149.
The FCT ranks third on the log with 82 cases while Ondo State picked the 4th slot with 73 new cases and Ekiti State recorded 17 to make the fifth position on the new infections chart.
Cross River State reported 13 cases, Oyo State, 11, and Ogun State reported nine, while both Delta and Osun states reported eight cases each.
Also, Bayelsa and Kaduna recorded four cases each in the new update.
Similarly, Kano and Kwara states reported two cases each while Sokoto from the far North-west region reported a single case to take the 15th position on the log.
As of Monday, Nigeria’s total confirmed cases stand at 183,087 with a total of 167,310 cases already discharged after treatment while the fatality toll rose from 2,219 to 2,223 on Monday.
The NCDC said it is leaving no stone unturned in Nigeria’s efforts to see to the end of the pandemic as the world struggles to combat the virus.
“A multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continues to coordinate the national response activities,” NCDC said on Monday.
The disease centre appeals to Nigerians to be cautious as they engage in their daily activities, noting that the disease is no respecter of anyone.
NCDC enjoined everyone to take the vaccines, noting that it is still the safest way to limit infections.
Meanwhile, the country on Monday commenced the second phase of vaccination of its citizens against the virus.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who doubles as the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, said the second phase would be largely prosecuted with the about 4 million doses of Moderna vaccines donated to Nigeria by the United States of America.
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Mr Mustapha, who spoke at the flag-off ceremony held at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi Abuja, on Monday said the additional 177,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines received recently are some of the 29,850,000 doses the Federal Government has purchased through the Africa-Import-Export Bank and the African Union.
“For us at the Presidential Steering Committee, this is highly encouraging and motivating,” Mr Mustapha said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, has revealed that in the next couple of weeks, Nigeria would receive 3.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines to complement those already received so far.
“This will also ensure that we cover not only those who will be taking their 2nd dose but also for those who will want to take their first dose of this vaccine,” he said.
