TheCable

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 34 new coronavirus cases in the country.

The agency broke the news in a tweet late Wednesday.

“Thirty-four new cases of #COVID19 have been reported as follows: 18 Lagos , 12 in Kano. 2 in Katsina, 1 in Delta, 1 in Niger. As at 11:20 pm 15th April there are 407 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. 128 have been discharged with 12 deaths,” the tweet read.

“Thirty-four new cases of #COVID19 have been reported as follows:

18 Lagos
12 in Kano
2 in Katsina
1 in Delta
1 in Niger

“As at 11:20 pm 15th April there are 407 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. 128 have been discharged with 12 deaths.”

At the presidential task force on COVID-19 briefing earlier on Wednesday, Chikwe Ihekweazu, NCDC director-general, said the country’s testing capacity had increased to “about 3,000”, but added that there were bottlenecks with collection of samples.

He added that the centre would also unveil a testing/diagnostic strategy, which would take into account ongoing efforts to curtail the spread of coronavirus.

The NCDC has also issued new guidelines outlining recommendations on the use of home-made face masks for non-medical professionals.

According to the centre, cloth masks can offer some form of protection, especially for the nose and the mouth, but should be accompanied with other preventive measures such as regular washing or sanitising of the hands, as well as social/physical distancing.

As of 11:20 pm on April 15, the number of states with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are:

• Lagos- 232
• FCT- 58
• Osun- 20
• Kano- 16
• Edo- 15
• Oyo- 11
• Ogun- 9
• Katsina- 7
• Bauchi- 6
• Kaduna- 6
• Akwa Ibom- 6
• Kwara- 4
• Delta- 4
• Ondo- 3
• Enugu- 2
• Ekiti- 2
• Rivers-2
• Niger- 2
• Benue- 1
• Anambra- 1