Nigeria records 381 fresh COVID-19 cases — 183 in Lagos

May 7, 2020 11:27 pm

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 381 new COVID-19 cases, with Lagos having nearly half of the entire infections.

The agency made the announcement on Thursday night via its Twitter handle.

A total of 3,526 cases have now been recorded in 34 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The number of fatalities increased from 103 to 107, while recoveries increased from 534 to 601.

381 new cases of #COVID19;

183-Lagos
55-Kano
44-Jigawa
19-Zamfara
19-Bauchi
11-Katsina
9-Borno
8-Kwara
7-Kaduna
6-Gombe
5-Ogun
4-Sokoto
3-Oyo
3-Rivers
2-Niger
1-Akwa Ibom
1-Enugu
1-Plateau

3526 cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria
Discharged: 601
Deaths: 107 pic.twitter.com/H5ouYwO9Cj
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— NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 7, 2020

The increase in the number of cases over the past few weeks has been attributed to the NCDC’s increased testing capacity.

While there have been concerns about the number of samples tested, Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the NCDC, states that the figures released as total number of tests done does not fully reflect the work that goes on in the laboratories.

Speaking on Thursday at the presidential task force on COVID-19 briefing, he said the figures released do not reflect repeated tests.

“The data shared is on people tested not on tests done. The data we share when we say we have done about 22,000 tested, those are on people tested. We don’t include all the series of tests,” he said.

“Every individual that is positive will have to be tested every three, four or five days. And some would have stayed in the hospital for about four weeks, so all those are tests being done as well and all of that are on the lab.

“So the numbers are really not fully representing the works being done in the labs across the country. We are not reflecting those numbers in the numbers we share everyday.”