Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria records zero deaths in 5 days, and cases in Africa exceed 4m

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has exceeded 4.29 million. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday. 

Kogi becomes last state in Nigeria to rollout vaccination

Kogi state on Wednesday kicked off COVID-19 vaccination — a day after receiving 16,900 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the federal government.

Kogi is the last state in Nigeria to receive the vaccine owing to the stance of the state government on the infection.

Yahaya Bello, Kogi governor, had repeatedly said there is no COVID-19 in the state.

But on Wednesday, Saka Audu, the state commissioner for health, flagged off the vaccination exercise in Lokoja, Kogi state capital.

Abubakar Yakubu, executive director of Kogi state primary health care development agency (KSPHCDA), was the first person to get vaccinated, followed by Usman Zakari, chief medical director of Kogi hospital management board, and other frontline health workers.

The commissioner asked residents of the state to take the vaccine, adding that nobody will be deprived of it or forced to receive it.

Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 4.29m

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,291,675 as of Thursday morning, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Africa CDC said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 114,353, while 3,859,202 patients have recovered from the infection, and 40,790,249 tests have been conducted so far across the continent.

South Africa has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 infections on the continent with 1,552, 853 cases, followed by Morocco with 499,025 infections, and Tunisia with 263,043 cases.

NCDC confirms 110 fresh COVID-19 infections, zero deaths

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 110 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday across 10 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

Also, Wednesday’s data showed that Nigeria maintained the zero death streak for the fifth time this week.

Lagos, the epicentre of the pandemic, recorded 24 cases while Yobe also 24 fresh infections, followed by FCT with 16 new cases.

Other states with new cases include Bayelsa (10), Rivers (10), Kaduna (10), Nasarawa (5), Akwa Ibom (4), Bauchi (3), Edo (3), and Plateau (1).

Wednesday’s figure now brings the total number of confirmed cases across the 36 states and the FCT to 163, 498.

The agency further reports that 158 patients recovered from the coronavirus on Wednesday. The number of discharged patients in the country now stands at 153,788.

According to the NCDC, the country now has a total of 2,058 COVID-19 deaths, 1,803,177 tested samples with 7,652 active cases.

US commences study on allergic reaction risk in Moderna, Pfizer vaccines

The US National Institutes of Health on Wednesday said it has started a mid-stage study to determine the risk of allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc.

Several allergic reaction incidents were said to have been reported in the US after vaccinations of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

The goal of the study is to access the proportion of participants who have a systemic allergic reaction within 90 minutes after injection.

Poland extends COVID-19 restrictions

Poland says it will extend COVID-19 restrictions until April 18.

Kindergartens, shopping centres, hotels, cinemas and theatres will remain closed under the restrictions.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Adam Niedzielski, minister of health, said the extension became necessary to curb the spike in infections.

“We have a difficult situation in hospitals. Yesterday over 34,500 beds were occupied and over 3,300 ventilators were in use. These levels, which are close to 80%, are dangerous levels,” Niedzielski said.

“We have decided that the restrictions in place will be extended by a period of over a week…The extended safety regulations will be in place until April 18.”

The minister said the increased mobility during the Easter holidays will be evident in next week’s statistics, adding that a rise in cases is possible.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA