Nigeria’s COVID-19 toll inched a little closer to 12,000 cases on Friday with 328 new cases confirmed in 13 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced this in its update for Friday.
The past few weeks have shown a significant rise in the country’s number of confirmed cases; the toll increased from 2,950 on May 5, 2020, to 11,844 cases on June 5.
However, within that period, recoveries have also increased from 481 to 3,696 patients while the number of fatalities rose from 98 to 333.
A total of 11,844 COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed in 35 states and the FCT, with Cross River yet to record any case so far.
328 new cases of #COVID19;
Lagos-121
FCT-70
Bauchi-25
Rivers-18
Oyo-16
Kaduna-15
Gombe-14
Edo-13
Ogun-13
Jigawa-8
Enugu-6
Kano-5
Osun-2
Ondo-211844 cases of #COVID19Nigeria
Discharged: 3696
Deaths: 333 pic.twitter.com/XQ3B7O0yIb— NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 5, 2020
Nigeria’s testing capacity has also more than tripled its count in the past one month, moving from 19,512 on May 4, 2020 to 73,064 as of June 4, 2020.
However, as the NCDC has noted, increased testing means the country will record more cases.
With the rise in the number of cases, there have been concerns about enough bed spaces and isolation centres.
Lagos, for instance, has confirmed a major percentage of the total number in the country with more than 5,000 cases.
As part of efforts to address the projected shortage, Akin Abayomi, commissioner for health, says the state is looking into implementing strategies for home-based management of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients.
Speaking at a media briefing on Friday, he said within the next two weeks, Lagos will develop other plans for managing patients not showing symptoms, while those with moderate to severe symptoms will be managed at isolation centres.