The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continues to record significant increase as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 34,259 confirmed cases.

On the 15th of July 2020, 643 new confirmed cases and 6 deaths were recorded in Nigeria, having carried out a total daily test of 12,707 samples across the country.

To date, 34,259 cases have been confirmed, 13,999 cases have been discharged and 760 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 199,016 tests have been carried out as of July 15th, 2020 compared to 186,309 tests a day earlier.

COVID-19 Case Updates- 15th July 2020,

• Total Number of Cases – 34,259
• Total Number Discharged – 13,999
• Total Deaths – 760
• Total Tests Carried out – 199,016

According to the NCDC, the 643 new cases were reported from 19 states- Lagos (230), Oyo (69), FCT (51), Edo (43), Osun (35), Rivers (30), Ebonyi (30), Kaduna (28), Ogun (27), Ondo (23), Plateau (20), Benue (17), Enugu (16), Imo (10), Delta (6), Kano (4), Nasarawa (2), Kebbi (1), Ekiti (1).

Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 12,941, followed by Abuja (2,738), Oyo (1,951), Edo (1,850), Rivers (1,427),  Delta (1,398), Kano (1,318), Ogun (1,132),  Kaduna (1,067), Ondo (770), Katsina (669), Ebonyi (646), Borno (593), Plateau (591), Gombe (533), Enugu (531), Bauchi (521), Kwara (422), Abia (413),  Imo (409).

Jigawa state has recorded 321 cases, Bayelsa (318), Osun (311), Nasarawa (254), Sokoto (153), Akwa Ibom and Niger (145),  Benue (143), Adamawa (110), Anambra (101), Kebbi (88), Zamfara (76), Ekiti (67), Yobe (62), Taraba (30), Cross River (10) while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.

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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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The University of Oxford’s vaccine trial is expected to present some positive results as it has been shown to be ahead of others. The positive news which was reported by a UK journalist is coming on the COVID-19 vaccine that the University of Oxford is developing with British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca Plc. 

This is coming moments after it was revealed that Moderna Inc vaccine had recorded positive results in its first stage of the human trial, being able to produce antibodies in all patients in an early test. 

According to a report from Bloomberg, ITV’s Robert Peston said in a tweet post, ‘’The vaccine is generating the kind of antibody and T-cell (killer cell) response that the researchers would hope to see.’’ 

He also added that details of the result will soon be released in a medical journal, The Lancet. 

The University of Oxford’s vaccine trial is led by Sarah Gilbert, who is profiled this week in Bloomberg Businessweek. The trial shot for the vaccine which is regarded as being months ahead of all other key vaccine candidates is already undergoing a third phase trial in Brazil, which ranks second with most infected cases in the world with 1,884,967 infections. 

The human trials of the Oxford vaccine are expected to be through in September as AstraZeneca has lined up agreements to produce 2 billion doses. 

Kate Bingham, the Chair of UK government’s Vaccine Taskforce, told the parliamentary committee in early July that Gilbert’s team has gone ahead of other vaccine contenders to the point where it will likely finish vaccinating subjects in its big 10,000-person efficacy trial before the other vaccine candidates even start testing on that scale. 

It was earlier reported federal researchers said that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine produced antibodies to the coronavirus in all the 45 patients that were tested in an initial safety trial, clearing a key milestone. 

The US biotech firm’s breakthrough is one of the most promising development yet in the race to develop a vaccine against the virus that has crippled the global economy. 

These vaccine developments are part of several efforts working on a potential vaccine for COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) had disclosed that over 100 vaccines for COVID-19 are currently under development globally. 

Moderna’s share price gained over 16% on Tuesday after the U.S drugmaker disclosed that its potential vaccine in containing the COVID-19 virus had produced a “robust” immune response in all the 45 patients in its first phase of the human trial, according to data released yesterday night in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine.

In a report credited to CNBC, about 45 patients produced neutralizing antibodies, which scientists believe is important for building immunity. It also provided more promising data that the vaccine may give some protection against the coronavirus. In the trial, each participant received a 25, 100 or 250 microgram dose, with 15 people in each dose group. Participants received two doses of the potential vaccine.

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“After two vaccinations, the COVID-19 vaccine generated a “robust” immune response in all participants in all dose cohorts,” Moderna said. The company also disclosed that the levels of neutralizing antibodies in patients in the high dose group were fourfold higher than in recovered COVID-19 patients.

“These Phase 1 data demonstrate that vaccination with mRNA-1273 elicits a robust immune response across all dose levels and clearly support the choice of 100 µg in a prime and boost regimen as the optimal dose for the Phase 3 study,” Moderna’s chief medical officer, Tal Zaks, said in a statement. “We look forward to beginning our Phase 3 study of mRNA-1273 this month to demonstrate our vaccine’s ability to significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19 disease.”

Quick fact about COVID-19: Although for some individuals, the COVID-19 virus causes only mild illness, it can make other individuals seriously ill. The disease can be very fatal, especially among older individuals, and those with compromised immunities (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart problems) appear to be more susceptible.

Recall that about a month ago, Nairametrics reported news of a series of tests carried on laboratory mice with Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine showing hope that it might not increase the risk of more serious diseases and that one dose might provide protection against the COVID-19 virus.

Moderna also disclosed that the COVID-19 vaccine was generally well-tolerated, though more than half of the participants reported mild or moderate symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches, or pain at the injection site.