The NCDC, in its update on the pandemic yesterday, said Nigeria had recorded 91 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 873, the total number of confirmed cases in 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The agency, in a breakdown, said 74 new cases were recorded in Lagos, five in Katsina, four in Ogun, two each in Edo and Delta, and one each in Kwara, Oyo, FCT and Adamawa State.
It said: “As at 11:25 pm on April 22, there are 873 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Nigeria. 197 have been discharged with 28 deaths.
A breakdown of the total number of cases shows that Lagos now has 504 cases, FCT 119, Kano 73, Ogun 24, Katsina 21, Osun 20, Oyo and Edo 17 each, Kwara 10, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom and Borno nine each, Bauchi eight, Delta six, Gombe five, Ekiti four, Ondo and Rivers three each, Jigawa, Enugu, Niger and Abia two each, while Benue, Anambra, Sokoto and Adamawa recorded one each.
FG Attributes Rise in Cases to Aggressive Testing
Reacting to the upsurge in number of confirmed cases, Chairman of PTF on COVID-19, Mr. Boss Mustapha, ascribed the rise in number of positive cases to the expansion in the testing capacity.
He said given the dynamic nature of the response plan, the strategy for testing had been modified while house-to-house testing had been intensified in some communities in Lagos and FCT.
Task Force to Recommend Review of Lockdown to Buhari
Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), added that the PTF will today study the report of the Director General of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu,
and the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Nigeria on nine states and use it as the basis of the recommendation to Buhari on extension or review of the four-week lockdown imposed on FCT, Lagos and Ogun States to prevent the spread of the virus.
Nigerian Evacuees to Bear Cost of Repatriation, Says FG
Also speaking at the briefing, Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Godfrey Onyeama, said the federal government would not be responsible for the flight and isolation cost of Nigerians to be evacuated from some foreign countries with high cases of COVID-19.
Onyeama said Nigerians forced to return home as a result of the pandemic would solely cater for their wellbeing because the federal government lacked the financial resources to do so.
“The financial aspect of this is one that we are very mindful of. We had some students who were trapped in Khartoum, Sudan and we had to bend backward to find the resources to try to pay for their return and two weeks of isolation because they are young students. But unfortunately for all the others, we just don’t have the financial resources because you can see the huge amount of money we have to pay for the various aspect of the challenges. It’s unfortunate that the government is not in a position to pay for everybody to come home and for their stay in isolation centres for two weeks,” Onyeama said.