By ABUJAH RACHEAL

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced additional 143 new COVID-19 cases, with one death.

In its official website handle on Tuesday morning, NCDC said the total infections from the virus had risen to 169,678 as at July 19.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new infections indicated a decrease from the 203 cases recorded a day earlier.

It said that regrettably one COVID-19 related death was recorded on Monday, raising the country’s total fatality to 2,128.

The centre said the new cases were recorded in seven states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

It stated that Lagos State, again, recorded the largest share of the Monday’s toll with 134 infections, amounting to amongst 90 per cent.

The NCDC said that Ondo has three new infection, while the trio of Cross Rivers, FCT, and Kwara, reported two new cases each.

It added that Ogun, Oyo and Rivers reported one each.

The agency added that five states with zero cases reported were: Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa, Plateau and Sokoto.

Meanwhile, the NCDC data showed that a total of 164,710 patients had been discharged from hospitals across the nation after treatment.

The NCDC noted that there were, however, more than 2,800 cases that were still active in the country.

The public health agency said that the country had tested more than 2.4 million samples for the virus out of the country’s estimated 200 million population.

It added that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level II, would continue to coordinate the national response activities.

The NCDC stated that the COVID-19 outbreak was ongoing and the Delta variant had been detected in Nigeria, which was more dangerous and spreads faster.

“Wear a mask properly at all times in public spaces as this prevents transmission of the virus,” it advised.

The agency noted that the 2021 Eid-ul-Adha celebration had come at a time when Nigerians must continue to be cautious and TakeResponsibility for their health and those around us.

“We call on all worshipers to adhere to public health guidelines to prevent spread of the virus.

“Avoid all non-essential travel within and outside Nigeria.

“Avoid mass gatherings. Observe physical distancing in public places. Always wear a face mask in public places,” NCDC advised. (NAN)

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