Nigeria’s coronavirus cases maintained a steady since the start of the week with 558 new infections confirmed on Thursday.
The figure was reported by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in its latest update on the outbreak of the disease in the country.
Data from the NCDC – the Federal Government agency responsible for the control of disease outbreaks – revealed that the figure reported on July 29 was the highest in almost five months.
The last time Nigeria reported a daily figure higher than 558 was on March 4, 2021, when a total of 708 cases were confirmed.
In the latest update by the agency, the NCDC explained that the new cases were reported in 15 states across the country, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Amid fears that the country was already slipping into the third wave of the pandemic, Lagos State reported 376 new infections.
The state was trailed by Oyo which had 33 more cases, Akwa Ibom where 26 new cases were reported, and the FCT which reported 22 fresh infections.
Other states included Imo – 15, Bayelsa – 13, Ekiti – 13, Kano – 12, Ogun – 11, Plateau – 11, Delta – nine, Jigawa – six, Rivers – four, Zamfara – four, Edo – two, and Ebonyi – one.
A total of 708 cases were reported on March 4, 2021.
Two deaths were also recorded on Thursday – raising the number of those who have lost the battle to the virus to 2,141.
Since the country recorded its first cases in late February 2020, the NCDC has confirmed a total of 178,821 cases in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
While 164,930 people have recovered from the disease, 2,439,850 samples have been collected and tested across the country.
As Nigeria’s confirmed cases continue to rise with fears and panic from citizens, authorities have yet to officially declare a third wave of the pandemic.
But the Federal Government and some state authorities have reintroduced the initially relaxed protocols, as part of efforts to prevent the disturbing trend.
Among the measures put in place include the mandatory use of face masks in public places, maintaining social distancing, and restriction of crowds in places of worship and social gatherings.
