Over 3,000 COVID-19 cases in two weeks as Nigeria’s toll exceeds 8,000

Nigeria’s COVID-19 toll exceeded 8,000 on Monday, with more than 3,000 cases recorded within two weeks.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 229 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the country’s total to 8,068 cases across 34 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The agency made the announcement via its Twitter handle at 11:34 pm on Monday.

The number of recoveries also increased from 2,263 to 2,311, while fatalities rose from 226 to 233.

Lagos confirmed the highest figure for Monday with 90 new cases.

The number of cases over the last few weeks have increased significantly. As of May 11, 2020, a total of 4,641 were confirmed positive out of 28,418 samples tested, but by May 18, the figure increased to 6,175 confirmed cases out of 36,899 samples tested.

As of May 24, a total of 7,839 COVID-19 cases were recorded out of 45,683 samples tested.

However, while less than 100 fatalities were recorded in the past two weeks, the number of recoveries increased significantly.

As of May 11, a total of 902 patients had been discharged, while 152 deaths had occurred, but by May 18, recoveries had increased to 1,644, with 191 deaths recorded.

The numbers are expected to rise as the NCDC increases testing capacity, but according to Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, nine out of ten patients will recover from COVID-19.