According to data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on its website, Lagos State on Sunday recorded no fewer than 70 new coronavirus cases, highest to be recorded by any state within 24 hours in Nigeria.
With the new cases, Lagos has recorded a total of 376 confirmed cases, 13 deaths, and 97 recoveries.
Lagos State has the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths and recoveries in Nigeria.
NCDC tweeted, “Eighty-six new cases of #COVID19 have been reported: 70 in Lagos, seven in FCT, three in Katsina, three in Akwa Ibom, one in Jigawa, one in Bauchi and one in Borno.
“As of 11:50 pm on the 19th of April, there are 627 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Discharged: 170; Deaths: 21.
“One case previously reported in Kano has been transferred to Jigawa state. Therefore, the total number of confirmed cases in Kano is 36 as of the 19th of April 2020.
“The breakdown of cases by state is: Lagos- 376, FCT- 88, Kano- 36, Osun- 20, Oyo- 16, Edo- 15, Ogun- 12, Kwara- nine, Katsina- 12, Bauchi- seven, Kaduna- six, Akwa Ibom- nine, Delta- four, Ekiti- three, Ondo- three, Enugu- two, Rivers- two, Niger- two, Benue- one, Anambra- one, Borno- one and Jigawa- two.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said the state is yet to reach its COVID-19 peak.
Abayomi, who spoke at a press briefing on Sunday, explained that no prediction could be made on when Lagos would reach its peak.
The commissioner said, “Seeing an increased number of patients does not mean that we are losing control, Lagos State has yet to reach the peak; the point we are making is that the increase in the number of cases per day is sustained but it is a gradual process.
“Had we not put strategies in place, we would have been seeing a steep rise in the number of cases per day. Right now, we are just seeing a very gradual increase in the number of cases recorded per day, which indicates that our graph is flat and that our strategies for the main time have been effective.
“We know we have not peaked yet, we don’t know when that peak will happen, it may take a few more months, but as long as we can keep the numbers of new cases per day, just increasing at a gradual rate, then that defines our curve as being flat as opposed to a steep curve; and that indicates that the Lagos State strategies are indeed very effective.”
