Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria reports 182 cases in 15 states — and six fatalities

Nigeria on Thursday recorded 182 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday. 

Former world leaders ask G20 to redistribute surplus vaccines

Former world leaders have asked leaders of the G20 countries to use its meeting this weekend in Rome, Italy, to agree to transfer surplus COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries.

In a letter addressed to Mario Draghi, Italian Prime Minister, the former leaders asked him to use the G20 summit to address the “unfair distribution of COVID vaccines”.

The group said some countries are stockpiling COVID vaccines, denying poor nations the opportunity to vaccinate its population.

“It would be unethical for all these vaccines to be wasted when globally there are 10,000 deaths from COVID-19 every day, many of which could be averted,” the letter reads.

The signatories of the letter include Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general, Gordon Brown, ex-British PM, and Fernando Cardoso, former Brazillian president.

Study: Vaccinated people ‘can still transmit’ Delta variant

A UK study shows that the Delta COVID variant can transmit easily from vaccinated people to contacts in their household.

According to the study, the contacts were less likely to get infected if they had been vaccinated.

The study conducted by Imperial College London found that the highly infectious Delta variant can spread even among a vaccinated population.

“By carrying out repeated and frequent sampling from contacts of COVID-19 cases, we found that vaccinated people can contract and pass on an infection within households, including to vaccinated household members,” Anika Singanayagam, co-lead author of the study, said.

“Our findings provide important insights into… why the Delta variant is continuing to cause high COVID-19 case numbers around the world, even in countries with high vaccination rates.”

WHO, Norway seek funding to end the pandemic

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Norway have called on the G20 leaders to deploy their financial and political power to fund the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator programme’s $23.4 billion plan to end the COVID pandemic.

“I hope and urge that the G20 will make a commitment to end the pandemic,” Jonas Gahr Stoere, prime minister of Norway, said.

Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, also appealed to the G20 to fully fund the programme which aims to provide vaccines, drugs, and tests to poor countries.

South Korea eases restrictions

South Korea says it will lift most of its COVID restrictions on public places and introduce vaccine passports for high-risk venues such as gyms and bars.

“Beginning November 1, our community will take the first step of resuming our normal life,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said.

“However, we must be aware that this doesn’t mean the fight against coronavirus is over, but a new beginning.”

Nigeria records 182 COVID cases

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 182 COVID infections have been reported in 14 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The agency said the states that reported the fresh cases include Taraba with 38 infections, Lagos with 27, and Zamfara with 25.

Other states are Benue (21), FCT (17), Gombe (13), Kaduna (12), Plateau (12), Jigawa (5), Kano (3), Rivers (3), Abia (2) and Edo (2). Bauchi and Bayelsa reported one case each.

The NCDC said Thursday’s report includes 38 cases and 19 recoveries from Taraba for October 27.

It also includes two infections from Abia for October 27.

According to the agency, 45 patients recovered from the virus, while six persons died of COVID complications.

To date, Nigeria has confirmed 211,678 cases, 202,885 recoveries, and 2,892 fatalities across the country.