Daily COVID Tracker: Infections drop to lowest in weeks as NCDC logs 74 cases

Nigeria on Sunday recorded 74 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Monday. 

Singapore warns of 2,000 annual COVID-19 deaths

Janil Puthucheary, a senior minister of state in Singapore, has warned that the country could have 2,000 COVID-19 deaths annually.

Reuters reports that Puthucheary spoke on Monday while briefing the country’s parliament.

South Korea lifts COVID restrictions, imposes vaccine passports 

South Korea has lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions and also introduced vaccine passports requirements at high-risk venues such as gyms and bars.

The country said the first phase of the rules will last for a month, with plans to lift all restrictions by February 2022.

“The return path to everyday life, to which we’re taking the first step today, is a path we’ve never been on,” Kwon Deok-cheol, the health minister, said.

Nigeria logs 74 infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 74 new cases of coronavirus in the country.

The agency, in its update for October 31, 2021, said the latest positive samples were recorded in seven states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The states that reported the new cases are Benue (49), Enugu (6), Osun (6), Kano (5), Oyo (4), FCT (2), Bayelsa (1), and Ogun (1).

The new infections reported include a backlog of 49 cases from Benue and six positive samples from Enugu.

The NCDC said one person died of COVID-19 complications, adding that the death was recorded in Lagos state.

However, 41 new recoveries were recorded on Sunday, and according to the agency, the figure includes a backlog of discharged patients from Abia state (26) and Lagos (1).

With the new figure, the total number of COVID-19 recoveries in Nigeria stands at 203,121.

A total of 211,961 coronavirus infections have been confirmed across Nigeria — out of which 2,896 patients have died.

UAE approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved for emergency use the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11.

The health ministry said the vaccine is safe and induces a strong immune response for children in the age category.

The ministry also said people with underlying diseases who had previously received Pfizer-BioNtech or the Sputnik V vaccine can now get a booster dose.

UK to send millions of COVID vaccine doses to developing nations

The United Kingdom says it will donate 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing countries by the end of 2021.

The country said it had delivered 10 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, with 10 million more to be delivered in the coming weeks.

In 2022, Britain said it will donate at least 20 million more Oxford-AstraZeneca doses and donate 20 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to the COVAX facility.