Daily COVID Tracker: Infections hit 23-week high as NCDC logs 747 cases in 14 states

Nigeria on Wednesday recorded 747 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday. 

WHO calls for suspension of COVID booster shots to tackle distribution inequality

Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has called for a suspension of COVID-19 booster shots till the end of September.

Speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday, Ghebreyesus said suspending booster shots will enable at least 10 percent of the population of every country to be vaccinated.

He said while more than four billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, many vulnerable people, especially in low-income countries, remain unprotected.

“These populations need vaccines urgently, especially health workers, older people and other vulnerable groups. And yet even while hundreds of millions of people are still waiting for their first dose, some rich countries are moving towards booster doses,” he said.

Test on Moderna COVID vaccine to take four days, says NAFDAC

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says testing on the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will take four days.

Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of NAFDAC, said this at an event organised by the agency on Wednesday in Abuja.

The federal government received 4.08m doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine from the United States on Sunday.

Speaking at the event, Adeyeye said the agency has been working “round the clock” to ensure that testing of the vaccine is completed.

“The health of our people is very key to us at NAFDAC. It is not something you go to the laboratory and come out with the result immediately,” she said.

“It will take like three to four days, but we are trying to shorten it as much as possible.”

Nigeria records 747 COVID cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) recorded 747 positive samples in 13 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s figure is the highest number of infections recorded in over five months. The last time the country confirmed cases above 747 was on February 18 when 877 cases were recorded.

The states that recorded the fresh infections include Lagos (488), Akwa Ibom (121), Oyo (29), Rivers (25), Ogun (15), FCT (13), Kaduna (13), Kwara (11), Ekiti (10), Osun (10), Edo (6), Abia (3), Anambra (2), and Plateau (1).

This brings the total confirmed cases across the 36 states and the FCT to 176,011.

Despite the huge number of infections, 86 persons were discharged while six deaths were recorded.

Also, the agency said Wednesday’s report includes “discharges and deaths from Lagos state recorded on August 2, 2021”.

Nigeria has discharged 165,208 patients from COVID-19. The country’s death toll stands at 2,167.

Global COVID-19 cases surpass 200 million amid spread of delta variant

Coronavirus cases worldwide have surpassed 200 million, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.

The total confirmed COVID-19 cases as of the time of filing this report stand at 200,193,983. Meanwhile, the global death toll is 4,256,252.

Tokyo Olympics records 31 cases

The organising committee of the Tokyo Olympics has confirmed 31 COVID-19 Games related-infections.

The organising body disclosed this in its update for August 5, 2021 — bringing the total infections since the beginning of July to 353.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA