Daily COVID Tracker: Infections decline as NCDC logs 86 cases in seven states

Nigeria on Sunday recorded 86 COVID-19 infections. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Monday.

Japan records zero deaths first time in 15 months

Japan recorded zero deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday for the first time in about 15 months, according to the health, labour and welfare ministry.

The country logged 162 new infections on Sunday but the number of patients with severe symptoms remained unchanged from the previous day. The last time the East Asian country recorded zero deaths from COVID-19 was on August 2, 2020.

Eleven killed as fire breaks out at Indian hospital COVID ward

At least 11 patients were reported dead after a fire outbreak in the COVID-19 ward of a hospital in Maharashtra, western India.

Seventeen patients were said to be in the ward in the city of Ahmednagar when the fire broke out. The survivors have been moved to a COVID-19 ward in another hospital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the incident and ordered an immediate probe to reveal the cause of the fire.

Australia begins COVID vaccine booster rollout 

Australia says it will start administering COVID-19 booster shots with Pfizer vaccine from Monday.

The highly infectious delta variant had surged the infection rate, prompting months-long lockdowns in major cities including Sydney and Melbourne.

Greg Hunt, federal health minister, said more than 173,000 booster shots have already been administered in aged care centres and on some health workers, but that the formal rollout will begin on Monday.

Nigeria records 86 new COVID infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 86 people tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.

The latest positive samples of COVID-19 were recorded in seven states, according to the agency’s update for November 7, 2021.

Kaduna topped the infection chart with 41 new cases, followed by Lagos and Osun with 24 and 10 positive samples, respectively.

Other states that recorded new infections include Bauchi (6), Ekiti (2), Ondo (2), and Edo (1).

The agency, however, said the cases reported include a backlog of 19 infections confirmed in Lagos.

One person died of COVID-19 complications on Sunday, raising the country’s fatality toll to 2,906.

Meanwhile, 130 patients were discharged on Sunday after recovering from COVID-19.

A total of 212,713 COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed — out of which 204,379  persons have recovered.

Costa Rica issues COVID vaccine requirement for children

Costa Rica has issued a COVID mandate requiring children aged five and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Daniel Salas, health minister, said the country’s vaccination drive has curtailed the spread of the infection.

“Our basic vaccination scheme has made it possible to subdue many of the viruses that cause suffering and health consequences and even fatalities in the underage population,” Salas said.