Garba Shehu announces recovery from COVID

Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, has announced his recovery from COVID-19.

Shehu made the announcement in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

He thanked God for his recovery and also prayed for the recovery of other Nigerians who are still afflicted by the infection.

“I thank Almighty Allah for my speedy recovery from COVID-19. My prayers and deepest respect are for all of you, who prayed, called or texted expressing your concerns for me,” he wrote.

“May all of our countrymen and women still afflicted with the virus fight this scourge with all their might and get well soon.”

TheCable had reported that the presidential spokesperson tested positive for COVID-19 and was undergoing treatment.

He had told Channels Television that he was in isolation, and was only experiencing mild symptoms.

Shehu said Tijjani Umar, permanent secretary at the state house, and a few others have also undergone COVID-19 tests.

Amid the report that presidential aides have contracted the virus, there were fears that the president might have been infected as well.

But Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, in an interview, said the Buhari is doing “quite fine”.

In the past few days, Nigeria has been reporting a steady increase in COVID-19 infections, in what has been confirmed as the fourth wave of the pandemic by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Last Wednesday, Nigeria recorded 4,035 cases — the highest single-day count since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

As of the time of this report, Nigeria has recorded 239,019 cases of COVID-19 while 213,180 persons have been discharged and 3,027 deaths recorded.