Recovery rate drops as Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases exceed 6,000

Nigeria crossed the 6,000 mark on Monday with 216 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in 14 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

This was announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday night.

The latest figures also showed a significant drop in the recovery rate as 50 people were discharged on Monday, the lowest recovery in almost two weeks.

On May 4, 2020, the total number of discharged patients was 26. However, the next day, 64 recoveries were recorded. The figures continued to increase steadily, dropping slightly on a few days, and then going as high as 152 recoveries on May 16.

However, while 112 people were discharged on Sunday, the number of discharged patients increased from 1,594 to 1,644 on Monday, and fatalities increased from 182 to 191.

A total of 6,175 COVID-19 cases have now been recorded in 34 states and the FCT.

216 new cases of #COVID19;

74-Lagos
33-Katsina
19-Oyo
17-Kano
13-Edo
10-Zamfara
8-Ogun
8-Gombe
8-Borno
7-Bauchi
7-Kwara
4-FCT
3-Kaduna
3-Enugu
2-Rivers

6175 cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria
Discharged: 1644
Deaths: 191 pic.twitter.com/FbcGTJ06iE

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 18, 2020

Earlier on Monday at the presidential task force on COVID-19 briefing, Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, announced the extension of the eased lockdown.

According to him, the decision was based on the task force’s recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari had announced a two-week relaxation of the lockdown and imposition of a nationwide curfew which took effect on May 4. But the SGF said this will remain in place till June 1, 2020, after which the guidelines will be reviewed.