Nigeria on Monday recorded its lowest daily COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the second wave in December 2020 with 574 new cases.
The new figure indicated a decrease from the 690 cases recorded on Sunday which was also one of the lowest since early December.
The relative low figures recorded on Sunday and Monday could be attributed to the decline in daily infections from Lagos, the most affected city in the country with more than a third of the nation’s total infections.
With the 574 new cases recorded on Monday, the total number of people infected with the virus now stands at 146,928.
According to an update from the NCDC, eight people also died from COVID-19 on Monday, raising Nigeria’s fatalities to 1,761 in total.
With the reduction in new cases, the number of patients receiving treatment for COVID-19 in hospitals stands at about 24,000 to 22,150.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has disclosed that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has received the dossiers of four different COVID-19 vaccines for evaluation ahead of their usage in Nigeria.
He said since all COVID-19 vaccines were carrying a certain amount of risk, any vaccine not approved by the Ministry of Health through its agencies would not be used in Nigeria.
While speaking on the vaccines secured so far, Ehanire said his ministry engaged The Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team who he said informed the government of Nigeria of the free allocation of 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, of which 500,000 doses are expected by the end of February, courtesy of MTN donation of seven million doses to Africa.
He added that the balance of 900,000 doses for Nigeria is expected by the end of March 2021 while other sources of vaccines are under negotiation.
By Hussein Jama
February 16, 2021
