Nigeria’s case statistics as at close of day May 6 stood at 3,145 cases with 532 recoveries and 103 deaths. The latest figure indicates 195 new cases with the top three tallies from Lagos, Kano and Zamfara with 82, 30 and 19 cases respectively.
Meanwhile in the capital of Niger State, Minna; patients at a government treatment facility threatened to discharge themselves citing poor treatment. It is the second state to record such an incident in days coming on the heels of the Gombe State report.
Over in Ekiti State, the government says it will prosecute a man who sneaked into the state despite a lockdown. The violator’s dad refused him entry into the home ordering him to go to the authorities to under self-isolation.
The video of the father – son interaction went viral following which the dad was granted audience by governor Kayode Fayemi. He was subsequently named a COVID-19 ambassador by the governor.
May 6: Ban on flights extended, repatriation starts, cases hit 3,000 mark
The presidential task force on COVID-19 announced a month-long extension on flight ban during its daily briefing on Wednesday. The decision was made on behalf of the federal government under whose auspices it is acting.
Meanwhile the first batch of repatriation involving nationals took place today with an Emirates flight that returned 265 Nigerians to Abuja. The flight had to return to Dubai after take off after a woman who gave birth in board developed complications. She was taken back to Dubai and the plane changed before the trip was made.
According to Head of Nigeria’s diaspora commission Dabiri-Erewa, the Nigerian ambassador in Dubai, and staff of the embassy are in touch with the mother and child who are in good condition.
They will now all go into 14 days of mandatory, supervised isolation in government-selected hotels. This will apply to the thousands of Nigerians expected to return home in the weeks and months ahead. Flights from the UK and US are expected coming Friday and Saturday respectively.
Almost 3,000 cases, Gombe patients protest ‘poor care’
By close of day May 5, there were 2950 confirmed cases of CIOVID-19 in Nigeria, 481 discharged and 98 deaths the NCDC reported.
Of the 148 new cases, the breakdown were as follows: 43-Lago, 32-Kano, 14-Zamfara, 10-FCT, 9-Katsina, 7-Taraba, 6-Borno, 6-Ogun, 5-Oyo, 3-Edo, 3-Kaduna, 3-Bauchi, 2-Adamawa, 2-Gombe, 1-Plateau, 1-Sokoto and 1-Kebbi.
The news spotlight was in Gombe on Tuesday where persons in isolation protested against poor health care. They blocked a road as part of their protests as locals stood by looking.
An official explained that they were asymptomatic despite being infected hence required lesser medical attention, he also dismissed the poor feeding claims.
Despite having been persuaded to return to the center, authorities are urging persons who might have come into contact with any of them to self-isolate. Gombe is the fourth most infected state with 98 cases only behind Lagos, Kano, FCT and Borno who occupy the top four slots in that order.
May 5: Cases hit 2,802, Buhari waives medical import tax
By close of day, May 4; case count had reached 2,802 according to the NCDC. The discharged was at 417 with 93 deaths. The figure represented 245 new cases.
A breakdown of which was as follows: Lagos 37-Katsina 32-Jigawa 23-Kano 19-FCT 18-Borno 10-Edo 9-Bauchi 6-Adamawa 5-Oyo 5-Ogun 1-Ekiti 1-Osun 1-Benue 1-Niger 1-Zamfara.
Local media reports that President Buhari has also waived import duty on all medical supplies. The blanket waiver on equipment and supplies is part of government’s “efforts to strengthen health infrastructure in response to the COVID-19 pndemic.”
Before now, importers had only been granted tax reliefs as announced by the Finance Minister who weeks back said government was liaising with stakeholders in the area.
This is the latest on a list of fiscal policies by the federal government to cushion the industry from the economic impact of the pandemic.
May 4: Relaxation of lockdown starts, Kano deaths explained
The easing of a federal lockdown on Lagos, capital Abuja and Ogun states. The government says the reopening of the economy will span over a six-week period.
The next two weeks will determine whether or not the process will be continued or reversed in Africa’s most populous nation and its biggest economy.
Some key guidelines issued with respect to public places include: Mandatory wearing of face masks, adherence to temperature checks, strict handwashing and use of sanitizers, observance of physical distancing and ban on public gathering.
Passenger flights remain prohibited as are interstate travel, governors last month agreed on the latter. Neighbourhood markets are to open thrice a week between 8 am and 3 pm.
Banks and financial institutions, category of government offices and corporate sector will also operate between 8 am and 2 pm. Schools, places of worship, clubs, bars and gardens are to remain closed.
Meanwhile mysterious deaths in Kano state have been linked to COVID-19 according to the Presidential task Force coordinating the pandemic response. Sani Gwarzo, national coordinator of the task force confirmed the link in an interview with journalists in Kano.
“We have five cogent reasons to say that the mass death recorded in Kano is associated with coronavirus.”
He listed a number of them as the age of the deceased persons, concentration of the people in one place and “test we have constructed which have element of COVID-19,” Sani Gwarzo, national coordinator of the Task Force told journalists in Kano.
He added that the final report would be ready in the next one week or few days, “it is necessary for people of Kano to wake up from their slumber that this is a serious issue.
“We need to know what is happening we are successful in identifying what the problems are and secondly we are happy on the level of cooperation the private sector and other stake holders. Many people have come out to support the state we cannot expand our investigation until we are certain,” he stressed.
With 170 new cases as of close of day May 3, Nigeria’s tally has reached 2,558 with 400 discharged and 87 deaths. Lagos has 1,107 cases with Kano’s 342 and Abuja’s 278 completing the top three. The closest to 100 mark is Gombe in fourth spot with 96 cases.