Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC logs 1,050 infections — but no deaths

Nigeria on Thursday recorded 1,050 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday.

Ghana has received over 17m COVID-19 vaccine doses, says president

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo says the country has received a total of 17.7 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines.

In his latest nationwide COVID-19 update, Akufo-Addo said 6.4 million of these doses had been administered to citizens.

“There are currently 1.7 million fully vaccinated people in the country and we are expecting an additional 18.53 million doses of vaccines by the end of the year,’’ he added.

The president appealed to Ghanaians to go out in their numbers and get vaccinated.

South Africa retains level one lockdown as COVID cases surge

Ghana’s national coronavirus command council has retained lockdown restrictions at “adjusted level one”, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) said it makes sense to keep lockdown at this level as hospitals are not overwhelmed at this stage.

“We need to tighten lockdown measures when hospitalisation admissions and ICU are higher,” Coetzee said.

Joe Phaahla, the country’s health minister, said the command council instructed the health department to monitor new cases, hospitalisations and deaths mainly driven by the Omicron variant during this festive season.

The department said parties and weddings posed the greatest risks for transmission as they are considered super spreaders.

UK will not be put on lockdown, Boris Johnson insists

Boris Johnson has insisted the United Kingdom will not be put on lockdown.

The prime minister said he was not telling the public to cancel events, but asking them to exercise “caution”.

This comes after Steve Brine, a conservative member of parliament, accused the government of “putting hospitality into effective lockdown”.

Johnson insisted the situation in the UK is different from last year because of the widespread availability of vaccines and tests.

“The sensible thing to do is to get a test and to make sure that you’re being cautious,” he said, adding that businesses should remain open.

Nigeria records 1,050 COVID cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 1,050 new cases of COVID-19 in 10 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The agency said this in its update for December 16.

According to the data provided by the agency, the states that recorded infections are Lagos (599), FCT (238), Rivers (79), Oyo (51), Ondo (32), Plateau (20), Akwa Ibom (11), Ogun (7), Bayelsa (5), Kano (5), and Kwara (4)

The NCDC said there were no fatalities on Thursday.

Fifty-three people were discharged on Thursday after recovering from the infection.

To date, 221,071 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Nigeria with 211,345 discharges made.

WHO warns Europe to be vigilant during the holidays over COVID

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked Europeans to keep a vigilant eye on the spread of COVID-19 during the holidays.

In a message on Thursday, Hans Kluge, WHO regional director, asked Europeans to “be smart, be kind and be safe this holiday season”.

“My message to the people of Europe and central Asia is to exercise caution this holiday season. Use the many tools we have at our disposal,” he said.

“Vaccines remain the best way to prevent severe disease and death, even with the arrival of the Omicron variant,” Kluge said, adding: “If you are eligible for a third dose and it is available to you, take it.”