By Audery Loteckukwu
MON, MAY 11 2020-theG&BJournal- The trend that emerged in the past week shows that with testing increasing so also is the number of new coronavirus cases. As at Sunday May 10, the count is 4,399 confirmed cases and 143 deaths, according to the latest data provided by the Nigerian Centre for disease control (NCDC). Double that size of test within the next week, you could expect confirmed new cases in the neighbourhood of 10,000, and active cases doubling as well.
The daily number of infection is now averaging 200, and up to 5 fatalities. The biggest one day confirmed cases so far is 386 recorded on May 8th 2020. In all, the period between April 29, 2020 and May 10 2020 (10-days) have yielded cumulative 2, 622 confirmed cases from 12, 250 tested patients. The total sample for testing collected since the country began counting on February is 25,951.
The surging numbers is beginning to make an impression with more people coming to terms with the gravity of the situation. A handful of Nigerians theG&BJournal spoke to weekend in Lagos say they are now being significantly scared.
‘’The sample testing results will help health officials determine how to deploy resources as well make decisions on future steps to control the pandemic which is already very widespread,’’ according to theG&BJournal resource persons on COVID-19 pandemic. ‘’But they have to speed it up to help build a consensus on a new plan to contain the surge of community spread, provision of protective equipment, tracing and isolating patients of interest to keep the spread down.’’
NCDC say they are implementing their strategy to rapidly detect new cases, isolate and mange them to recovery. New Coronavirus sample collection centres have been set up in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of community-level testing.
Nigeria has about 30, 000 test kits, ‘’but has an established supply chain and equally have plans for 2 million test kits over the next three months,’’ according to the Director General of the NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu.
Lagos has continued to record the scariest rate of infection, 1845 as at Sunday May 10. But Kano is racing up the field, well ahead of Federal Capital Territory. Both have 602 and 356 confirmed cases of coronavirus and the numbers in Kano is projected to reach well over 1000 by week’s end.
Meanwhile, the NCDC boss Chikwe said ‘’the reality is that at the moment, a good number of all ‘’our patients are not in the isolation centres because we are struggling with capacity across the country.’’
He said the state government and the federal government is struggling with how to rapidly increase bed capacity, to care for the 300 to 400 mew patients that are confirmed daily.
|twitter:@theGBJournal|email: info@govandbusinessjournal.com.ng|
