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Africa News on Saturday May 9, 2020
Source: allafrica.com
2020-05-09
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Nigeria has confirmed 386 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the country’s total to 3,912.
The Nigerian Center for Disease Control, NCDC, in its daily update noted that there were 386 new confirmed cases and 10 deaths in Nigeria on Friday.
The 386 new cases were reported in 20 states: Lagos (176), Kano (65), Katsina (31), FCT (20), Borno (17), Bauchi (15), Nasarawa (14), Ogun (13), Plateau (10), Oyo (4), Sokoto (4), Ríos (4), Kaduna (3), Edo (2), Ebonyi (2), Ondo (2), Enugu (1), Imo (1), Gombe (1), Osun (1).
“3,912 cases have been confirmed, 679 cases have been registered and 117 deaths have been registered in 34 states and in the Federal Capital Territory. No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has raised the alarm that the growing number of COVID-19 cases is outpacing the capacities of isolation centers across the country.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said this on Friday in Abuja at the 28th joint national briefing by the Presidential Task Force (TFP) on COVID-19.
According to him, the government may have to consider other “inconvenient” isolation options, as states across the country are overwhelmed by the sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases.
“Therefore, it is increasingly difficult for the government to maintain its policy of institutional isolation for all cases, whether asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic or severe.
We have a great challenge across the country right now, especially in Lagos, Kano and Zamfara. There are some states where the number of new cases exceeds the ability to continue implementing our policy of institutional isolation of all cases, whether asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, or severe. This is the current policy.
Right now, the reality we face is that the implementation of that policy is very difficult. Yesterday we confirmed 158 new cases in Lagos. It means that for today if we are to follow that policy, Lagos has to find 158 new bed spaces in a single day. And I can tell you that tonight we will have another set of confirmed new cases in Lagos, “Ihekweazu said.
He said this shows that no country in the world has found it easy to increase the hospital’s space capacity by 300, 400 or 500 percent, which is what is required in response to this outbreak using current policy.
He said, “So we are considering other options and in the coming days we will share these options with you. This is not because these are options that we would like to consider, but are options that we are forced to consider. The reality is that that right now a good number of all our patients are not in institutions in isolation centers because we are struggling with capacity across the country.
I really sympathize with the government of the states that are working so hard not only to provide the facilities, but also to feed, provide security, basic infrastructure.
I was in Kano last weekend and toured the new treatment center that everyone was rushing to set up. But it is not simple and there is no simple solution for this. The Federal Government, the State Government and everyone is fighting for how to quickly increase the capacity to provide a place to serve 300 or 400 new patients that we confirm every day. “
On the subject of testing, he said: “For test kits, we have roughly 30,000 at the moment. We have an established supply chain, so test kits are not what you buy by the millions and kept in the warehouse because they are subject to environmental conditions and all kinds of problems.
We have planned two million test kits for the next three months that are already in the process of being purchased, not only from the Federal Government but from all of our UN partners who are coming to the table to support us. “
Responding to a question about the Lagos state producing reagents for the COVID-19 test, the NCDC chief said that it is not a competition because Lagos is part of Nigeria and that if Lagos produces something, the government will be happy and will use it to strengthen the national response. .
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