….Abuja and Ogun Trail with 278 and 80
Abuja – Lagos state remains the epicenter of the dreaded coronavirus pandemic with 1,107 persons testing positive to the virus followed by Kano which has overtaken Abuja to record 343 positive patients.
Abuja and Ogun state are trailing with 278 and 80 positive tested patients as at Sunday night record showed.
Health experts attributed the spike in infections to ongoing community transmission phase and improved testing capacity, warning that the country is yet to reach the peak of the curve.
“Nigeria hitting over 2, 000 cases in just seven days after reaching 1, 000 figuratively tilts the epidemiological curve towards an upward spike”, the NMA said in a statement signed by its President, Francis Faduyile.
“Nigeria should learn from her neighbour Ghana where the same action produced a 100% increase in infection rate in just a week.”
Within days of easing its lockdown, West African neighbour Ghana confirmed coronavirus cases surged to over 2,000, a 24 per cent increase.
The NMA warned that unless testing is expanded dramatically amid the relaxing of lockdowns, infections could rise exponentially.
Instead of relaxing lockdowns, the Nigerian doctors advised the government to intensify efforts “through mass enlightenment campaigns beyond current attempts to explain the dangers inherent in easing the lockdown prematurely in the face of rising infection rates; and also for the palliatives to reach the needy.”
The NMA said the concern raised by the country’s infectious disease agency, NCDC, that the number of bed spaces for patients could be overwhelmed if the confirmed cases continue to rise is an indication for the government to tread with caution.
The country has about 3,500-bed spaces identified as available for COVID-19 patients but with the rapid spike in infections, the NCDC said it is considering the option of home care treatment if bed spaces are no longer available for patients.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had warned that rushing to ease coronavirus restrictions would likely lead to a resurgence of the illness.
Meanwhile, the Lagos state government has ordered civil servants not to resume work yet due to the rapid increase in infections in the state
