A total of 550 new cases were reported on Tuesday from 17 states
Nigeria’s coronavirus infections have surpassed 70, 000 after the country recorded its highest daily tally since late August, raising fears of a second wave of the pandemic.
On Tuesday, 550 new cases were recorded, taking the total in the country to 70, 195.
The latest figure is the highest since August 23 when 601 cases were recorded. The country’s highest daily figure so far is 745, recorded on June 19.
For six consecutive days, Nigeria has recorded over 300 cases, according to health officials.
Between Thursday and Tuesday, 2, 255 cases were reported, indicating a resurgence in infections after weeks of low numbers.
One death was also recorded on Tuesday, taking the total of fatalities to1,182.
Meanwhile, of the over 70,000 persons infected, 65,110 have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.
Active cases in the country rose sharply from about 3, 000 to over 5, 000 due to the rise in new infections.
The 550 new cases were reported from 17 states – Lagos (219), FCT (168), Kaduna (52), Kwara (19), Kano (15), Rivers (15), Sokoto (10), Enugu (9), Gombe (8), Plateau (7), Osun (7), Anambra (5), Oyo (5), Jigawa (4), Ogun (4), Bauchi (2) and Edo (1).
Again, Lagos and Abuja, the two most affected cities, led in Tuesday’s tally with 219 and 168 new cases respectively – more than half of the total.
The update came amid a devastating second wave of infections in many parts of the world, especially Europe and America. The global tally has surpassed 66 million infections and 1.5 million deaths.
However, there is optimism in the treatment of the virus as at least three vaccines have shown over 90 per cent effectiveness during trials, according to the manufacturers.
Nigeria has so far tested over 800,000 of its 200 million population for the virus.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has also advised Nigerians to suspend their Christmas and New Year travels to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.