By ABUJAH RACHEAL

Nigeria on Tuesday logged 610 additional COVID-19 infections, the second highest in nearly six months, said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on its website on Wednesday morning.

It said the new infections took the country’s total of confirmed cases to 179,118, from the 422 cases registered a day earlier.

The NCDC added that the country’s active cases also soared to 10,324, noting that the 610 additional infections were reported in 12 states and the FCT.

The public health institute said Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states drove the country’s COVID-19 surge in new infections on Tuesday.

The agency said Lagos State, the country’s epicentre for the virus, had continued to rank highest in daily reports with 281 infections.

The NCDC said Lagos was followed by Rivers with 152 infections, noting that Akwa Ibom, the second hardest-hit with the Delta variant in the country, recorded 85 cases.

Other states recorded new infections as follows: Ogun – 21, Oyo – 21, Ekiti – 14, FCT – 13, Delta – 7, Edo – 6, Ondo – 4, Bayelsa, Kano, and Plateau two each.

The NCDC noted that its Tuesday reports included Kaduna and Sokoto states recorded zero cases, while two new deaths were recorded.

It added that the country’s fatality count since the start of the pandemic had risen to 2,194.

The NCDC stated that 149 people had recovered and were discharged from various isolation centres in the country on Tuesday.

It noted that till date, 166, 131 recoveries had been recorded nationwide in 36 states and the FCT.

The NCDC, however, said the country had tested more than 2.5 million samples for the virus, out of the country’s roughly 200 million population, noting that the country’s COVID-19 average test positivity rate was six per cent.

Meanwhile, the agency stressed the need for the public to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines, following increasing reports of people flouting the rules.

It urged Nigerians to help stop the spread of the virus and save lives. (NAN)

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