By ABUJAH RACHEAL

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 474 new infections of the coronavirus in the Nigeria, taking the country’s total to 70,669 cases.

The NCDC made the disclosure via its verified website late on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that last week, the country’s COVID-19 infections tally recorded yet another increase.

The NCDC record table shows that the 1,607 new confirmed cases are higher than the figure recorded in the week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, when Nigeria recorded 1,102 cases of the disease.

The latest infections were recorded from 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The NCDC disclosed that 132 patients were discharged after recovering from the infection from isolation centres nationwide.

“Our confirmed cases today include data reported from Kebbi and Adamawa over two weeks,” the NCDC stated.

The agency said, however, that it had recorded two additional COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 1,182.

It said that the FCT recorded the highest number of confirmed cases with 180 new infections, taking the total number of cases in Abuja to 7,716.

Lagos, the epic-entre of the virus in Nigeria came second with 134 new infections, taking the total number of cases in the state to 24, 238.

According to the NCDC, FCT, Lagos, Kebbi, Adamawa and Plateau recorded the highest number of the COVID-19 infections with 180, 134, 45, 26 and 16 cases, respectively.

The other states recorded the disease as follows: Enugu-14, Taraba-14, Gombe-12, Nasarawa-8, Yobe-8, Rivers-5, Ogun-5, Kwara-2, Ekiti-2, Sokoto-2 and Osun-1.

According to the NCDC’s tally, as at Dec. 9, a total of 474 new confirmed cases and two deaths have been recorded in the country.

The agency said that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre, activated at Level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities.

It said that till date, 70,669 cases had been confirmed and that 65,242 cases had been discharged, while 1,184 deaths had been recorded in the 36 states and the FCT.

Meanwhile, the agency said that it was in the enlightened self-interest of Nigerians to collaborate in the spirit of global solidarity, to find a solution to the pandemic because “nobody is safe until everyone is safe”.

It noted that Nigerians might be tired of COVID-19 but that the virus was not tired of them, especially during the Christmas holidays, adding that this was not the time to let their guards down.

“Adhere to protective public health measures. Wash your hands often. Wear a face mask and avoid crowded spaces.

“Take Responsibility,” the agency admonishes.

Nigeria has conducted about 822, 231 tests since the first confirmed case, relating to the coronavirus was announced in the country. (NAN)

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