The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has said that the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak cases in the country have increased to 30, just as it confirmed three new cases in Lagos State.
Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, disclosed this on Sunday, March 22, 2020 in Abuja, while giving an update on COVID-19 in the country.
Ihekweazu said that, as at 05:28 pm. of March 22, there were 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria, noting that two had been discharged, with no deaths.
He stated that in the three new cases, two were returning travelers and one was a contact of a confirmed case.
He said that the confirmed cases were currently from five states: Lagos – 22, FCT – four, Ogun – two, Ekiti – one, and Oyo – one. He added that 28 of them are currently receiving treatment.
Ihekweazu said that currently, there were five molecular laboratories in NCDC’s laboratory network, with the capacity to test for COVID-19 in Nigeria.
“Our laboratory teams are working round the clock to ensure rapid testing of samples from suspected COVID-19 cases across the country,” he said.
Ihekweazu said that as the COVID-19 situation in the country evolved, NCDC and government agencies would continue to take necessary measures to protect the health of Nigerians.
The NCDC has launched a communication campaign “TakeResponsibility” to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country.
According to the centre, preventing COVID-19 spread requires a whole-of-society approach, calling on Nigerians to “TakeResponsibility” for their health.
“It will take collective efforts to share credible information widely across various channels,” it said.
By Abujah Racheal
