COVID-19: NCDC confirms new cases; 22 in Lagos, 4 in FCT, 2 in Ogun, 1 in Ekiti, 1 in Oyo

Abuja – The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has said that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak cases in Nigeria have increased to 30, just as it confirmed three new cases in Lagos State.

The Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, disclosed this on Sunday in Abuja, while giving an update on COVID-19 in the country.

Ihekweazu said that as at 05:28 pm. of March 22, there were 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria, noting that two had been discharged, with no deaths.

He stated that in the three new cases, two were returning travelers and one was a contact of a confirmed case.

He said that the confirmed cases were currently from five states: Lagos – 22; FCT- 4; Ogun – 2; Ekiti – 1 and Oyo – 1, adding that 28 of them were currently receiving treatment.

Ihekweazu said that currently, there were five molecular laboratories in NCDC’s laboratory network, with the capacity to test for COVID-19 in Nigeria.

“Our labotary teams are working round the clock to ensure rapid testing of samples from suspected COVID-19 cases across the country,” he said.

Ihekweazu said that as the COVID-19 situation in the country evolved, NCDC and government agencies would continue to take necessary measures to protect the health of Nigerians.NCDC has launched a communication campaign “TakeResponsibility“ to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

According to the centre, preventing COVID-19 spread requires a whole-of-society approach, calling on Nigerians to “TakeResponsibility” for their health.

“It will take collective efforts to share credible information widely across various channels,” it said.