For the past 10 weeks, Nigeria seems to be riding firmly along a plateau in its coronavirus epidemiological curve. At least four of the country’s 36 states has officially gone over 20 days without recording a single COVID-19 infection or a death attributable to the virus.
This is according to the coronavirus situation report published by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday.
The latest NCDC data, which builds on previous ones suggesting that Nigeria’s coronavirus pandemic curve may be taking a downward turn, showed that the states of Borno, Kebbi, Zamfara and Kogi have not appeared in the daily coronavirus update for at least 23 days.
In stark contrast to several predictions suggesting that the pandemic will wreak havoc in Nigeria and much of the African continent, Africa’s most populous country has not been badly hit seven months into the outbreak, unlike many European and American countries.
Instead, there has been a steady decline in COVID-19 cases and fatalities recently.
Daily coronavirus cases have been stuck below 500 since late July. Likewise, deaths have been hovering around 30 per week over the past month, even as hospitalisations have continuously declined, since peaking at over 20,000 in mid-July. On the other hand, recoveries have improved significantly.
Of the over 58,000 total COVID-19 infections so far, nearly 50,000 persons have been discharged from hospitals after treatment while a little over 7,000 active cases remain in the country.
The recent improvement has given a lift to the country’s reopening plans.
Students are fully returning to schools in many states, as prospective youth corps members are told to prepare for camp. While local flights resumed about seven weeks ago, Nigeria has reopened its skies for international flights.
Restaurants and hotels can now open while parks, gyms, and cinemas are allowed to open at half capacity.
While these are considered a welcome development, relaxing too much can be dangerous, if it breeds a false sense of security, health experts say.
They, in fact, believe the steady decline in infections and deaths poses “more questions than answers.”
On Thursday, the NCDC warned that there is likely to be an even more devastating second wave of coronavirus in states such as Adamawa due to the non-compliance to COVID-19 health guidelines.
The health agency said it is only when more persons are tested that the spread of this deadly disease can be addressed and tamed.
Currently, Nigeria has tested just nearly 500,000 of its 200 million population.
The Lucky States – Report
The five states of Borno, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Kogi have not recorded a single COVID-19 infection in over 20 days. Likewise, no fatality attributed to COVID-19 complications has been reported within the period.
