COVID-19: 3 dead as Nigeria records 505 new cases

The Nigeria Centre for the Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed in an update on its website that it has recorded three more deaths and 505 new cases of COVID-19 in various parts of the country.

The agency disclosed that the statistics were drawn from across 15 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The agency said, “On the 3rd of August 2021, 505 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria. The 505 new cases are reported from 13 states-Lagos (275), Rivers (63), Akwa Ibom (62), Gombe (22), Ogun (8), FCT (4), Edo (3), Imo (2), Kano (1), Nasarawa (1), Sokoto (1), Jigawa (1), Ebonyi (1).”

This takes the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 175,264. However, amidst the increasing number of cases, 165,122 cases have been discharged and 2,163 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory since the first reported case of the virus in the country.

As Nigeria’s confirmed cases continue to rise, authorities have yet to officially declare a third wave of the pandemic.

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has expressed concerns over the rise in the number of COVID-19 -related fatalities recorded in the last week which presents a worrying trend of the third wave of the pandemic.

In a post on his official Facebook page, the governor of Lagos State described the increase in the number of cases as frightening. He stated that the infection rate in Lagos has increased eight-fold and has resulted in 4,300 confirmed cases in July while 352 patients have been admitted into the state-run isolation centres.

He, therefore, urged residents of Lagos and the whole country to be more vigilant and still adhere to all safety protocols, adding that 30 Covid-related deaths were recorded in the last six days.

Why this matters

In most parts of the state, residents have discarded the use of face masks. From markets to public buses, schools and places of worship, Lagosians seem to be unperturbed by the alarming increase in infections. Some major supermarkets, fast food outlets and restaurants have, however, maintained the mandatory requirement for customers to wear face masks and use hand sanitisers at the entrance before they can gain access into the building.