Rivers State has recorded its first case of Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 51, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of NCDC, made this known in an interview with our correspondents, on Thursday in Abuja, while giving an update on the COVID-19 infections.
Ihekweazu said NCDC on Wednesday reported five new cases of coronavirus, with two cases each in Abuja and Lagos, and one in Rivers.
The NCDC said out of the five new cases, three are returning travellers into Nigeria and two are close contacts of a confirmed case.
“As at 11:25 pm March 25, there are, 51 confirmed cases, two discharge and one death,” he said.
He classified the cases as 48 active cases, two recovered and discharged and one death.
The death was a Nigerian with an underlying health condition.
Ihekeazu said that NCDC would continue to share verified updates regarding COVID-19, and the importance of practising social distancing, regularly and thorough washing of of hands with soap or alcohol based hand sanitisers.
“ If you’ve travelled recently to a country with widespread transmission in the last 14 days and you’re showing symptoms of Fever, cough or breathing difficulty, please stay at home and dial the NCDC toll free number : 080097000010
“We’ve highlighted the importance of social distancing in four languages- Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Pidgin, all on the NCDC website.
“ To reduce the spread of fake news, there’s a World Health Organisation (WHO), but that is available globally to receive live updates on COVID-19 on your WhatsApp.
“Please share this with friends and family, lets all do what we can to stay safe during this period. We can get through this, if we #TakeResponsibility, stay at home and reduce the spread of fake news,” he advocated.
Daybreak reports that as the COVID1-19 pandemic grows, health officials continue to monitor the number of confirmed cases. Globally there are 468,156 cases and 21,180 deaths from COVID-19 outbreaks.
COVID-19 has affected 198 countries and territories around the world.
