Delta records first time high rate on COVID-19 index

For the first time since confirming its index case on April 8, 2020, Delta state recorded its highest daily COVID-19 toll on Thursday with 106 new cases.

Before Thursday, the state’s highest daily toll was 83 cases recorded on June 20.

The new figure was announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday night, with a total of 594 new infections confirmed in 21 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

According to the June 25 update, seven new deaths were recorded, while 209 people were discharged.

A total of 22,614 people have now tested positive for COVID-19, out of which 7,822 recoveries and 549 deaths have been recorded.

Speaking on the need for more caution considering the increase in the number of cases, Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the NCDC, called on Nigerians to take more precautions as many people above 50 have underlying illnesses which may result in complications arising from COVID-19.

“These are not strange illnesses and I just want to remind all of us, many members of our families have these diseases,” he said at the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19.

“So, as we think about the risks that we take, it’s not just about us, it’s about those of our friends, our relatives that may have any of these, what we call them comorbidities. This sounds like a strange impossible thing, but really, these are really common diseases that many of us have.

“If you do a random sampling of this room, you’ll find 10 to 20 percent to be hypertensive, two to five percent to be diabetic. This is just a fact of prevalence and distribution of diseases. So, these are not rare diseases. As we take these risks and try to be motivated to do the right thing, let’s think about others that may be more vulnerable than ourselves to these circumstances.”