COVID-19: Kogi finally joins the list as Nigeria records 389 cases — highest daily toll

Exactly three months after the index COVID-19 case in Nigeria, the country has had its highest daily toll ever, and with Kogi state recording its first two cases.

An Italian who flew into the country from Milan tested positive for the disease on February 27.

On Wednesday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced 389 new cases and two were from Kogi state.

Kogi had disallowed an NCDC team from conducting COVID-19 tests in the state, insisting that it had conducted over a hundred tests that turned out negative.

Prior to the results of Wednesday, NCDC said only one test had been done in the state.

According to the centre’s figures, the number of fatalities increased from 249 to 254, while recoveries increased from 2,385 to 2,501.

A total of 8,733 COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed in 35 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

With the increase in the number of cases recorded, the federal government has called on states to make provisions for more centres for isolation and treatment.

Speaking at the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Olorunnimbe Mamora, minister of state for health, said a significant number of states did not have the required number of bed spaces.

“Though not surprising, we are concerned about increasing number of confirmed cases. This is because, very high cases could seriously exceed the capacity of our health system to cope. Routine cases may also suffer as a result. Therefore, non-pharmaceutical preventive approach is still our best strategy,” he said.

“At present, we have a total of 112 treatment and isolation centres in all the 36 states and the federal capital territory with 5,324 beds. While only five states including the federal capital territory have at least 300 beds, as prescribed for isolation and treatment, 21 states have less than 100 bed spaces.

“As the number of cases increase, there is an urgent need to expand our treatment centres across the country. I therefore call on the state governors and philanthropists to take active and deliberate steps to scale up the number of beds for isolation and treatment of confirmed cases in their states.”