The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continue to record significant increase as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 29,789 confirmed cases.

On the 7th of July 2020, 503 new confirmed cases and 15 deaths were recorded in Nigeria, having carried out a total daily test of 1,831 samples across the country.

To date, 29,879 cases have been confirmed, 12,108 cases have been discharged and 669 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 152,952 tests have been carried out as of July 6th, 2020 compared to 151,121 tests a day earlier.

COVID-19 Case Updates- 7th July 2020

• Total Number of Cases – 29,789
• Total Number Discharged – 12,108
• Total Deaths – 669
• Total Tests Carried out – 152,952

According to the NCDC, the 503 new cases were reported from 20 states- Lagos (153), Ondo (76) Edo (54), FCT (41), Enugu (37), Rivers (30), Benue (24), Osun (20), Kaduna (15), Kwara (13), Abia (9), Borno (8), Plateau (6),Taraba (5), Ogun (3), Kano (3), Kebbi (2), Nasarawa (2), Bayelsa (1), Gombe (1).

Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 11,520, followed by Abuja (2,322), Oyo (1,530), Edo (1,489), Delta (1,285), Kano (1,271), Rivers (1,235), Ogun (1,050),  Kaduna (883), Katsina (628), Borno (555), Ondo (550), Gombe (521), Bauchi (516), Ebonyi (503), Plateau (460), Enugu (418), Abia (400),  Imo (352), Jigawa (318).

Kwara state has recorded 297 cases, Bayelsa (269), Nasarawa (234), Osun (198), Sokoto (153),  Niger (122), Benue (121), Akwa Ibom (112), Adamawa (99), Kebbi (86), Zamfara (76), Anambra (73), Yobe (61), Ekiti (45), Taraba (27), while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases.

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Lock Down and Curfew

In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.

The movement restriction, which was extended by another two-weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.

On Monday, 29th June 2020 the federal government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by 4 weeks and approved interstate movement outside curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020.

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To survive the harsh economic realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerian businesses have been tasked to embrace digital resources and innovation that will help them thrive in the realities of the new normal.

A leading Lagos-based software innovation company, Crown Interactive led by UK-trained IT Expert, Wumi Oghoetuoma made this known why introducing its digital resources known as CICOD Suite.

This opportunity comes at a time when the CBN recently introduced a N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) as a stimulus package to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have been affected by the pandemic.

According to Crown Interactive, “with the CICOD product, businesses will be more efficient, digital-friendly, and thus, resilient to some of the economic shocks we’re living through today. Currently, CICOD suite of tools is running a free 30day trial period so that for businesses at no cost at www.cicod.com”

“The CICOD suite of tools comes with all that businesses need to manage digitally, allowing them to run the shop remotely and enable other people to sell on their behalf, but still leaving them in charge of a centralized hub. Decentralizing by introducing new sales channels – like selling via agents, social media, call-to-shop – makes it more convenient for customers to shop with businesses and effectively, more convenient for them to increase revenues.”

Crown Interactive noted, “For some micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), reopening means business owners may first have to get rid of the old stock that they have been sitting on during lockdown to make way for the new. With CICOD, businesses can run promotions, apply discounts directly, and track and monitor leftover stock in the inventory, all from the comfort of your home.”

“With CICOD Suite, businesses can manage a whole database of customers and easily text them, send them invoices, and even monitor buying patterns so that they can more suitably fulfill the needs of their clientele. They can even take this further and run a loyalty scheme, to make sure they keep the regulars coming back.”

The organization added, “as the shops open up and customers begin to stroll back in, they need to see that there’s been an upgrade by allowing CICOD bring their businesses into the now. It is not enough for businesses to survive in this period, we want them to thrive in it too. We can equip them with the digital tools that they need to thrive in this period and move to the next level.”

In line with strategic repositioning of the company, the management of Purple Group has announced the rebranding of Purple Capital Partners Limited and change of name to Purple.

With this change, its flagship multi-use centre, Maryland Mall in Lagos will now be known as Purple Maryland while the ongoing development in Lekki will be known as Purple Lekki.

Announcing the changes in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Olayide Agboola, noted the rebranding and repositioning takes effect from July 1, and would be implemented across all the company’s physical and digital touchpoints.

The decision, he said, was in line with the group’s core belief in continuous innovation and customer satisfaction.

‘’We are refocusing our brand, and extending our reach beyond just real estate development. We see the need to curate affordable lifestyle experiences by leveraging our expertise in real estate development.

“With MarylandMall, now Purple Maryland and our ongoing development with PurpleLekki, we are integrating retail, arts, entertainment, media and advertisement, family fun, food and drinks, e-commerce and financial services all in one through superior mixed-use centres and services. Our new focus is clear; working with our range and network of partners, we are creating affordable lifestyle experiences for our consumers across all income levels,” the CEO explained.

Agboola further pointed out that all the group’s facilities and ongoing development were also rebranded and would be addressed with the Purple prefix (PurpleMaryland, PurpleLekki) while its new services would also bear a touch of the Purple Identity as well. He however added that to keep in touch with the group’s brand heritage; they had kept the same colors and logo symbol.

Speaking on what the new identity connotes, Agboola stated that the new Purple identity signified growing strength, resilience and elegance, which he noted accurately represents the significant growth and successes it has recorded over the past few years.

He said: “Ours is a story of sheer resilience, best practices and excellent service delivery to our partners and clients across the group. With this brand repositioning, we are re-committing to our core beliefs and ensuring unwavering commitment to our values, to our investors and to our esteemed partners. Our refreshed brand clearly communicates these values. We are also excited to unveil the brand identities for our new services and ongoing development projects”.

According to him, with the new development, PurpleLekki, PurpleNano, Purple.shop and PurplePlay, have all been designed to give customers more value for money. For instance, he explained that  PurpleLekki; the all-new lifestyle centre in Lekki, Lagos, currently under development, will occupy a land size of about 10,000 sqm and a few floors which will be mixed use – retail, entertainment, serviced accommodation, and private offices.

For PurpleNano, Agboola stated that the premium and standard studio apartments was conceived with the modern professional in mind and available in 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms and 1 bedroom variants. “These ‘nanos’ are furnished to fit the peculiarities and taste of the Lekki Market and provide a peaceful, cozy space for occupants and visitors,” he stated.

Speaking of the future, the company also has plans to venture into the e-commerce space with brand ‘purple.shop’. Purlple.shop will work with the base of retail, fashion, food and entertainment partners and service providers in Purple centres. With this, they can reach even more customers through online channels. The e-commerce platform will also provide marketing tools and real-time analytics to optimize growth.

While pointing out that the group’s identity may have been refreshed, he was quick to add that the company’s focus remained unwavered. “We are creating affordable lifestyle experiences for our consumers through our principal investments in these superior mixed-use centres and services. We also remain thankful and committed to our partners and we will continue to utilize our expertise and experience to deliver alpha returns and provide best service to our customers across the group,” he concluded.

About Purple

Formerly known as Purple Capital Partners, Purple Group is an ecosystem of companies focused on creating best-in-class lifestyle experiences for our consumers through our principal investments in superior mixed-use facilities and services.

Our lifestyle services spans through real estate, retail, e-commerce, media and advertising, entertainment and family fun, financial services amongst others; all focused on driving our mission to create lifestyle experiences for our consumers with convenience, affordability and finesse. Our lifestyle portfolio of developments include purplemaryland, purplelekki, purplenano.