Following the continuous rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, Nigeria, on Thursday, confirmed 35 new cases of the pandemic, bringing the total number of cases to 442.
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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, in a tweet said the new cases were reported in three states -Lagos, Kano and Oyo, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The breakdown of the new cases showed that Lagos has 19 cases, followed by FCT with 9, Kano, 5, and Oyo, 2 cases.
Lagos remains the epicentre for the outbreak in Nigeria, while confirmed cases in Kano have been on the rise since the first confirmed case was announced on Sunday in the city.
The NCDC said as at 10:20 p.m. on Thursday, there were 442 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Of this, 152 have been discharged while 13 people have died.
As of the time of reporting, 19 states and the FCT have confirmed at least a case of the virus in Nigeria.
Lagos State has now reported 251 cases, followed by FCT- 67, Kano- 21, Osun- 20, Edo- 15, Oyo- 13, Ogun- 9, Katsina- 7, Bauchi, Kaduna and Akwa Ibom- 6, Kwara and Delta- 4, while Ondo has 3 cases. Enugu, Niger, Ekiti, and Rivers have two cases each, while Benue and Anambra have recorded one each.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have been advised to expect a rise in the number of infections as the government intensifies contact tracing and testing to identify those who may have been exposed to the virus.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has also warned that the government will sanction private hospitals in Nigeria who are treating COVID-19 patients without permission.
On his part, the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, announced that the pandemic will spread across the 36 states of the federation.
This came in the wake of the new figure announced by the Centre.
