Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC logs 791 new infections, eight deaths

Nigeria on Thursday recorded 791 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday.

WHO records jump in COVID cases, fall in deaths worldwide in one week

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says there was a 71% surge in the weekly count of infections worldwide, describing this as a “tsunami” of cases as the Omicron wave continues.

It said despite this, the number of recorded deaths fell, with 41,178 confirmed in the last seven days compared to 44,680 in the week prior.

“Last week, the highest number of COVID-19 cases were reported so far in the pandemic,” Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said. 

He added that the WHO was certain the latest figures were underestimated because of a backlog in testing around the year-end holidays.

Austria to impose new COVID rules

A fresh set of COVID-19 restrictions will be introduced in Austria from Saturday.

Under the new rules, the self-isolation period for those who test positive for coronavirus will be cut to five days.

People will be required to wear masks outdoors when in crowds, and the validity of vaccine certificates will be limited to six months.

“We need to do everything we can possibly do together to prevent another lockdown,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer told a news conference on Thursday.

Chile to begin offering fourth shot of COVID vaccine

Chile will begin offering a fourth shot of the COVID-19 vaccine next week to immunocompromised citizens.

It will be the first country in Latin America and one of the first in the world to offer the extra dose.

“Starting next Monday, January 10, we are going to start a new mass vaccination process with a fourth dose or a second booster dose,” Sebastian Pinera, the country’s president, said at a press conference.

“The success that Chile has had in the vaccination process puts us among the best countries in the world in the way we have managed to combat this pandemic.

“And with this fourth dose we seek to maintain this leadership position and protect the health and lives of our compatriots.”

Nigeria reports 791 COVID cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 791 cases were reported across the country on Thursday — a slight decrease from Wednesday’s value of 856.

The agency in its update for January 6, said the new cases were logged in 13 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

428 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria

Lagos-523

FCT-84

Oyo-48

Ondo-35

Kano-22

Borno-16

Delta-15

Edo-15

Ogun-9

Jigawa-7

Bauchi-6

Plateau-5

Rivers-4

Bayelsa-2

The NCDC said 262 persons were discharged after recovering from the infection while eight persons died. The country’s death toll stands at 3,066.

The report contains a backlog of 523 confirmed cases reported for Lagos state on January 5 (249) and 6 (274);and 16 confirmed cases reported for Borno state on 5 (4) and 6 (14).

It added that 108 discharged cases reported for the FCT includes 102 community discharges.

Nigeria has now confirmed a total of 246,195 cases with 217,509 discharges.

Italy makes vaccination compulsory for people over 50

Italy on Wednesday made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people from the age of 50.

The measure takes immediate effect and will run until June 15.

The rule was approved after a two-and-a-half-hour cabinet meeting which saw friction within President Mario Draghi’s multi-party coalition.

“Today’s measures aim to keep our hospitals functioning well and at the same time keep open schools and business activities,” Draghi told the cabinet, according to his spokesperson.