TheCable

Lagos recorded a significant drop in its COVID-19 toll on Saturday as the state confirmed 66 new cases.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced the cases at 11:38 pm on Saturday, when it confirmed 389 new cases in 22 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

This is the first time in more than one week that Lagos will record less than 100 cases in its daily case count.

Between May 26 and June 5, the state had recorded high number of cases in its daily COVID-19 toll , which had risen to as high as 378 cases on May 30.

With 130 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the number of recoveries increased from 3,696 to 3,826, while fatalities rose from 333 to 342.

A total of 12,233 COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed in 35 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

Kebbi and Sokoto, which had no active COVID-19 case as of Friday, recorded new cases on Saturday.

389 new cases of #COVID19;

Lagos-66
FCT-50
Delta-32
Oyo-31
Borno-26
Rivers-24
Edo-23
Ebonyi-23
Anambra-17
Gombe-17
Nasarawa-14
Imo-12
Kano-12
Sokoto-12
Jigawa-8
Ogun-7
Bauchi-5
Kebbi-2
Kaduna-2
Katsina-2
Ondo-2
Abia-1
Niger-1

12233 cases of #COVID19
Discharged: 3826
Deaths: 342 pic.twitter.com/MDVl4qreNl

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 6, 2020

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June 6 marked 100 days since Nigeria recorded its index case on February 27, 2020.

A statement by the NCDC earlier on Saturday highlighted efforts by the agency, the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 and state emergency operation centres to contain the spread of the virus.

“One hundred days after the first case, we remember all Nigerians who have passed away from the disease. We commiserate with their families and friends who have had to deal with the difficulty of losing loved ones at this time,” it read.

“To ensure a well-coordinated emergency response, NCDC activated a Level 3 Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) on the 27th of February 2020. Prior to this, the National EOC was in alert mode; monitoring the spread in other countries, carrying out risk assessments and strengthening Nigeria’s preparedness.

“During this time, NCDC developed technical guidelines, response plans and trained health workers across the country. The National EOC includes representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health, other sister agencies and partners.

“Prior to the confirmation of the first case, NCDC supported four laboratories within its molecular laboratory network to activate testing for COVID-19. Since then, the number of laboratories has increased to 30, with a combined minimum capacity of 10,000 tests daily. The goal is to expand to at least 10 more laboratories by the end of June, leveraging on Gene-Xpert capacity for Tuberculosis diagnosis.”