BY Samuel Akpan
Nigeria on Friday recorded 40 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Saturday.
Saudi Arabia restricts entry from four countries
Saudi Arabia says it will restrict travel to and entry from Ethiopia, UAE, Vietnam and Afghanistan to curtail the spread of COVID-19.
The restriction which goes into effect on July 4, applies to anyone who has been in those four countries within the last 14 days.
However, Saudi Arabia citizens returning before Sunday will be exempted.
Delta variant represents third of COVID cases in France
The Delta variant of the coronavirus now represents about a third of COVID cases in France.
Olivier Veran, health minister, disclosed this on Friday.
“There is a real risk that the epidemic will pick up again this summer in France,” Veran said.
He advised citizens to visit designated centres to get vaccinated.
Nigeria records 40 COVID infections
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 40 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
The agency confirmed the new infections in its update for July 2.
The latest positive cases were recorded in four states.
The states that recorded new infections are Lagos (36), Rivers (2), Gombe (1), and Kano (1).
The NCDC said 96 persons were discharged on Friday after recovering from the infection — raising the total number of recoveries to 164,369.
The agency reported zero deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, leaving the number of fatalities in the country at 2,121.
A total of 167,732 coronavirus infections have now been confirmed across Nigeria.
COVID-19 Delta variant recorded in 98 countries
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Delta, the highly infectious variant of COVID-19, has been recorded in 98 countries.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, stated this on Friday.
Tedros warned world leaders to take decisive measures to curb the spread of of virus, adding that Delta is becoming a dominant strain globally.
“In those countries with low COVID-19 vaccination coverage, terrible scenes of hospitals overflowing are again becoming the norm. But no country is out of the woods yet,” Ghebreyesus said.
“Delta has been detected in at least 98 countries and is spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage.”
Zimbabwe imposes two-week lockdown
Zimbabwe has imposed a two-week lockdown to curtail the spread of COVID-19.
According to NAN, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for Antonio Guterres, secretary-general, disclosed this on Friday.
Dujarric said the UN is helping Zimbabwe step up its COVID response.
“UN colleagues are working to help deliver essential health care services, including improving access to oxygen and intensive care units for severe cases,” Dujarric said.
COVID-19 IN NIGERIA
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