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NCDC: COVID transmission currently at lowest level — but we must remain cautious

BY TheCable

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Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says the rate of transmission of the coronavirus in Nigeria is currently at its lowest level so far.

He stated this on Monday at a media briefing organised by the presidential steering committee (PSC) on COVID-19, held in Abuja.

While noting that the case count has dropped significantly, he added that the citizens must not let their guard down in order to prevent a spike in the infection rate.

“In the last two months, you would have seen a continuous decline in the number of positive COVID cases that we have found. Test positivity ratio at the moment is one percent. It means that about one in a hundred people tested turned out to be positive. So, yes, transmission is definitely at the lowest levels we’ve had in Nigeria so far,” he said.

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“Having said that, we obviously can’t take things for granted. We’ve seen the numbers across the world. We’ve seen a very steep increase in cases in South Africa – close to 20,000 cases in a single day — and several other countries in that region, So, we have to learn lessons from them. They also had very low numbers a few weeks ago.

“We have to learn lessons from other countries and make sure that we’re better placed to deal with this.”

He also urged citizens to continue to ensure strict adherence to the protocol for curbing the spread of the virus.

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