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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has expressed worry over the rising number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria and beyond, calling on Nigerians to be more cautious and take safety measures against the virus more seriously.
This, it said, was based on the prevailing risk from the virus and the need for religious organisations, community leaders, and Nigerians to take necessary precautions ahead of the upcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
NCDC said its surveillance system has detected an increase in the daily COVID-19 cases, stating that confirmed cases rose from 267 to 445 between weeks 21 to 24, while hospitalisation and fatalities have remained low.
It said the recent rise in cases may be due to increased testing over the last few weeks, as well as increased circulation of Omicron sub-lineages (BA.4 and BA.5 as seen elsewhere), and an increase in seasonal illness with cold and cough symptoms as well as poor adherence to preventive measures such as the use of masks.
The Centre also made reference to the latest situation report from the World Health Organization (WHO), which indicated that the number of weekly COVID-19 cases has increased globally for the third consecutive week.
NCDC Director-General Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, in an advisory statement on Friday ahead of the Sallah celebration, calls for increased individual and collective responsibilities against the virus.
He said the virus that causes COVID-19 is more likely to spread in mass gatherings and when people do not adhere to preventive measures such as physical distancing, mask use, and hand hygiene.
He urged Nigerians to prevent the onset of a full-fledged fifth COVID-19 wave by remaining mindful of the high risk of spread of COVID-19 and acting in tandem by adhering to recommended public health safety measures.
He promised that the National Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) would maintain active surveillance in conjunction with state epidemiologists, support states to ensure that access to testing was provided for
prompt management of confirmed cases, and coordinates genomic surveillance to detect emerging variants.
He added: “Our focus is to ensure response continuity for COVID-19 and improve our health system while giving needed attention to other priorities within our mandate including the ongoing monkeypox response.”
He recalled that since Nigeria’s first case was detected on 27th February 2020, it has recorded 256,695 confirmed cases with 3,144 deaths across 36 states and the FCT, and genomic surveillance confirmed Omicron and its various offsprings (sub lineages) as the dominant circulating variant of concern associated with the spread of the disease in the country.
