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Nigeria recorded 44 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday.

Saudi Arabia donates COVID medical equipment to FG

The federal government has taken delivery of medical equipment donated by Saudi Arabia to assist in the fight against COVID-19.

The medical equipment includes 23 ventilators, surgical sterile gowns, non-sterile surgical gowns, surgical masks and nitrite gloves.

According to a statement by Olusegun Adetola, director of media and public relations in the ministry of health, the equipment is worth $1 million and will boost Nigeria’s fight against the pandemic.

US to send 3 million J&J COVID vaccine doses to Brazil

The United States says it will deliver three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Brazil on Thursday.

The donation is part of the US pledge to deliver 80 million vaccine doses to other nations to assist them in the fight against the pandemic.

Brazil has witnessed a spike in the number of COVID infections in recent weeks.

AFDB: Africa should be producing — not begging for COVID vaccines

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, says the continent needs to start producing and not beg for COVID-19 vaccines.

Adesina said this during the opening ceremony of the 2021 meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday.

The AfDB president said the coronavirus pandemic impacted African economies negatively as countries are estimated to lose between $145 billion and $190 billion in the gross domestic product (GDP).

“Now the recovery is conditional on access to vaccine and the resolution of Africa’s debt. Africa produces less than one percent of its vaccines. Africa should not be begging for vaccines, Africa should be producing vaccines,” he said.

Nigeria records 44 COVID infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 44 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday across three states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

The latest figure brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections to 167,375 across the country.

Lagos, the epicentre of the pandemic, accounted for 72.73 percent of Wednesday’s — reporting 32 positive samples.

Other states that recorded new infections are Rivers (8), FCT and Plateau — with two cases respectively.

The agency said: “Today’s report includes data from 3 states with zero cases reported: Imo, Kano, and Sokoto”.

No death was recorded for the second day, leaving the COVID-19 fatality toll at 2,118.

Four people were discharged, bringing the total number of recoveries to 163,917.

Delta variant to make up 90 percent of new COVID cases in Europe by August

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says the delta variant of coronavirus is expected to account for 90 percent of the new COVID-19 cases in the European Union by late August.

The ECDC said the delta variant is 40 to 60 percent more contagious than the Alpha variant first discovered in the United Kingdom.

“It is very likely that the delta variant will circulate extensively during the summer, particularly among younger individuals that are not targeted for vaccination,” the agency said.

“This could cause a risk for the more vulnerable individuals to be infected and experience severe illness and death if they are not fully vaccinated.”

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA