Daily COVID Tracker: Infections decline as NCDC logs 74 cases in nine states, zero deaths

Nigeria on Sunday recorded 73 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Monday.

Nicaragua approves two COVID vaccines from Cuba

Nicaragua has authorised two Cuban-made COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use.

BioCubaFarma, Cuban state-run pharmaceutical corporation, disclosed this in a statement, adding that the vaccines are Abdala and Soberana.

Cuba had developed three vaccines against COVID-19 — but are yet to receive recognition from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Israel requires COVID booster shots for “green pass”

Israel has asked vaccinated citizens to get a booster shot to be eligible for a “green pass”.

The new green pass is issued to those who received three shots or recently recovered from COVID-19. The government considers it as full immunisation.

The new development replaces a previous system requiring just two shots and is expected to be enforced starting on Tuesday.

Minister: Russia close to getting WHO approval of Sputnik V COVID vaccine

Mikhail Murashko, Russian health minister, says all the barriers to registering the country’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine with WHO has been cleared and only some paperwork remains to be completed.

The Sputnik V shot is used in Russia and is also authorised for use in many countries. It is undergoing a review by WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

“Russia’s position on promotion and registration of the Sputnik V vaccine was heard, we have removed all the questions for today,” Murashko was quoted as saying.

Nigeria records 74 new COVID infections 

Nigeria has seen relatively low cases of COVID-19 in the past few days.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 74 people tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.

The latest positive samples of COVID-19 were recorded in eight states and the federal capital territory (FCT), according to the agency’s update for October 3, 2021.

Lagos topped the COVID-19 infection chart with 36 new cases, followed by Edo and the FCT with 11 and nine positive samples, respectively.

Other states that recorded new infections include Akwa Ibom (6), Sokoto (6), Delta (3), Benue (1), Oyo (1) and Rivers (1).

For the second consecutive day, no new death from COVID-19 complications was recorded in the country.

The agency said 204 patients were discharged on Sunday after recovering from the infection. With the new figure, the total number of COVID-19 recoveries in Nigeria stands at 194,097.

A total of 206,138 coronavirus infections have been confirmed across Nigeria — out of which 2,723 patients have died.

Trump: I got Pfizer COVID vaccine… I might get booster shot

Donald Trump, former US president, says he got vaccinated with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and would consider taking the booster shot.

Trump revealed this in an interview on Saturday.

In March, an adviser of Trump had told NBC News that the former US president and Melania Trump, his wife, quietly received COVID-19 vaccine in January. But the type of vaccine received by Trump and Melania was not known.