Nigeria records highest toll in one week as NCDC confirms 338 new COVID-19 cases

Nigeria has recorded a significant spike in the number of cases in one week, with 338 new cases confirmed in 16 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

This was announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Sunday night.

The number of discharged patients increased from 1,472 to 1,594, while fatalities increased from 176 to 182.

A total of 5,959 confirmed COVID-19 cases have now been recorded in 34 stages and the FCT.

338 new cases of #COVID19;

177-Lagos
64-Kano
21-FCT
16-Rivers
14-Plateau
11-Oyo
9-Katsina
4-Jigawa
4-Kaduna
3-Abia
3-Bauchi
3-Borno
2-Gombe
2-Akwa Ibom
2-Delta
1-Ondo
1-Kebbi
1-Sokoto

5959 cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria
Discharged: 1594
Deaths: 182 pic.twitter.com/1nC9HjskN3

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— NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 17, 2020

On May 7, Nigeria recorded its highest daily toll with 381 confirmed cases, but in the days that followed, the figures dropped steadily to as low as 146 cases on May 12.

However, it started increasing again and on May 15, a total of 288 cases were recorded. There was some relief on Saturday when the country recorded 176 cases, but that was short-lived as 338 COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Sunday.

The development comes hours before the end of the first phase of the two-week relaxation of the lockdown declared by President Muhammadu Buhari; the first phase is expected to end on May 18, 2020.

In the light of the easing of the lockdown, Buhari will address the nation on Monday.