By ABUJAH RACHEAL

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 138 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), with two deaths recorded in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the last 24 hours in the country.

The NCDC made this known on its official website on Thursday.

The Centre, however, stated that 105 patients were discharged after testing negative to the virus across the country during the period under review.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with the new confirmed cases on Thursday, the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country is now 61,805 in the country.

The NCDC confirmed that Kastina reported 44 cases of the new virus, followed by Lagos with 35 cases, while Kwara, Kaduna and Plateau recorded 15, 13, and seven cases.

Other states with new cases were; Imo (6), Adamawa (5) Rivers (4), Yobe (3), Ogun (2), Oyo (2), Osun (1) and FCT (1).

Since the beginning of the pandemic in Nigeria in February, NCDC had tested more than 595,283 samples, out of which, 61,805 were positive.

The health agency stated that “till date, 61,805 cases have been confirmed, 56,985 cases have been discharged and 1,127 deaths recorded in 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.”

It noted that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, had continued to coordinate the national response activities.

Meanwhile, the agency said that physical distancing measures could help to reduce transmission and enable health systems to cope.

It advised that “handwashing and coughing into your elbow can reduce the risk for yourself and others.

“But on their own, they are not enough to extinguish this pandemic. It’s the combination that makes the difference.

“States must take a comprehensive approach, but the most effective way to prevent infections and save lives is by breaking the chain of transmission. And to do that, you must test and isolate.” (NAN)

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