Chidi Samuel| Nigeria’s COVID-19 burden on Monday exceeded 33,000 following the confirmation of 595 new infections in the country.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) who made the disclosure in a statement via its verified Twitter handle said the new infections were recorded in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to the health agency, Lagos, the epicentre of the outbreak in the country reported 156 new infections, followed by Oyo with 141 and the FCT with 99.
Other states with new infections include Edo 47, Kaduna 27, Ondo 22, Rivers 20, Osun 17, Imo 13, Plateau 10, Nasarawa and Anambra recorded 8 new infections each, while Kano, Benue and Borno reported 5 cases.
Other states with new cases include Ogun 4, Taraba and Gombe 3 cases, Kebbi and Cross River recorded 1 case each.
The NCDC further stated that the total confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus now stand at 33,153, with 13,671 dischsrges and744 deaths.
The tweet read, 595 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;
Lagos-156
Oyo-141
FCT-99
Edo-47
Kaduna-27
Ondo-22
Rivers-20
Osun-17
Imo-13
Plateau-10
Nasarawa-8
Anambra-8
Kano-5
Benue-5
Borno-5
Ogun-4
Taraba-3
Gombe-3
Kebbi-1
Cross Rivers-1
-We cannot rule out airborne transmission of COVID-19 – NCDC Boss
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday said there are possibilities that coronavirus (COVID-19) can be transmitted through the air.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, who made the disclosure at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, attributed his assertion to new evidence.
According to him, the disease previuosly is believed to only be transmittable through droplets that emanate from the nose and the mouth but over the past weeks new evidence has emerged that airbone transmission cannot be ruled out.
Ihekweazu said, “Over the past few weeks, increasing evidence has emerged that in addition to droplet infections; we cannot rule out that airborne transmission is also possible as a mode of transmission of COVID-19.
“Understanding the modes of transmission of any new virus is very critical for defining response strategies. For COVID-19, from the very beginning, our understanding based on other coronaviruses that spread was primarily through droplets.”
“Droplets are excretions from the respiratory tracts that can’t stay on in the air; they ultimately fall to the ground after a few minutes.
“However, as we have studied transmission, studied clusters of these infections, we saw increasing evidence from clusters of infections where droplet transmission did not seem to be enough to explain the clusters that we are seeing.
“Diseases that are commonly understood to be spread by what we call airborne infection are things like measles and influenza; that can be suspended in the air and transmit over longer distances.”
He aslo added that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also updated its guidelines with the same position on the mode of COVID-19 transmission.
The NCDC boss, therefore, called on Nigerians to act in a precautionary way and assume that the virus could be transmitted through the air and advised against indoor activities.
He stressed the need to re-emphasise safety protocols against COVID-19.
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