The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has issued a public health advisory to all members of the public to exercise caution as they celebrate the upcoming festivities – Christmas and New year.

The Commission said that it is fully aware that the yuletide season affords a number of people an opportunity to celebrate with their families and friends and as well for people to travel to visit their loved ones or attend events, but cautioned that everyone has to make necessary adjustments in social interactions in line with the reality of the pandemic to limit the spread of Covid-19.

According to the commission, “Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nigeria, just over 67,000 Covid-19 cases have been reported with just over 1,000 deaths. Most of the confirmed cases and deaths have been in urban/semi-urban cities and towns and the risk of spread remains.

“The Covid-19 virus does not spread on its own, it spreads when people move around. This means that by traveling across countries and cities, there is a higher risk of transmission, especially to rural areas where the existing health infrastructure is already weak.”

(READ MORE: Covid-19: Africa prepared for possible second wave – Africa CDC)

Key highlights of the advisory

• Limit all non-essential domestic and international travels.
• As an alternative to traveling, you could still remain socially connected with friends and loved ones using mobile or video conferencing technology.
• Hold virtual services and prayer sessions to limit the mass congregation.
• Observe appropriate social distancing protocols and personal hygiene in all public places and events, washing of hands frequently with soap and water or using a hand sanitizer when hands are not visibly dirty and running water is not readily available.

Why this matters

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has continued to rise across several countries globally. Nigeria is not an exception, with the recent spike recorded in the number of confirmed cases in some major cities.

In the first wave of infections, the economy was paralyzed with lockdowns that lasted for months, and the country cannot afford a second wave which could be more catastrophic.

The latest COVID-19 daily update report as of November 29^th 2020 released by the ECOWAS Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control indicates there are 205,368 confirmed cases in West Africa.

From the new number, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire top the list with a total of 140,291 confirmed cases, representing 68.3% whilst the other 12 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) contributed 31.7%

COVID19 #ECOWAS DAILY UPDATE for November 29th, 2020. #StaySafe #PreventionActionsKey #Covid19Out #WearYourMask pic.twitter.com/tVx3JXHuL0

— ECOWAS Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control (@Ecowas_cdc) December 1, 2020

According to the report, Nigeria has 67,412 confirmed cases (32.8%), Ghana 51,569 (25.1%) and Cote d’Ivoire 21,310 (10.4%).

Nigeria has a recovery rate of 93.5 % which places her on the 8^th position, Ghana 97.8 % (2^nd position) and Cote d’Ivoire 98.3 % (1^st position).

On CFR (case fatality rate), Nigeria occupies 10^th position with 1.74%, Ghana 13^th position with 0.63% and Cote d’Ivoire 0.61%, 14^th position.

On active cases, Nigeria occupies 8^th position with 4.7%, Ghana 12^th position with 1.5% and Cote d’Ivoire 13^th position with 1.1%.

What you should know

• As at November 29, 2020, worldwide, there are 62,736,160 confirmed cases, 1,459,243 deaths and CFR of 2.3%
• In Africa, there are 2,163,389 confirmed cases, 51,708 deaths and CFR of 2.4%
• In West Africa, there are 205,368 confirmed cases, 2,861 deaths and CFR of 1.41% active cases 8,585)4.3%), recovery rate of 94.3%
• On recovery rate, Cote d’Ivoire tops the list with 98.3%, followed by Ghana 97.8%, Senegal 97.0% with the least coming from Mali with 67.8%.
• As regards the death rate (CFR), Liberia tops the list with 5.29%, followed by Niger 5.12% and Mali 3.41% while Guinea is the least with 0.58%.
• As regards the death rate (CFR), Liberia tops the list with 5.2%, followed by Niger 4.62% and Gambia 3.29% while Guinea is the least with 0.58%.
• Mali has more active COVID-19 cases with 29.0%, followed by Sierra Leone 20.8% and Niger 15.8% with Gambia contributing the least with 0.5%.

The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has announced plans to reduce case fatalities of the Covid-19 pandemic by focusing on improving the capability to manage the virus.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, during the daily Joint National Briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 in Abuja.

The Minister said that the ministry plans to increase its capacity to battle the disease through personnel supervision.

He said, “We hope to reduce case fatalities by strengthening our capacity to manage cases, but it is only possible if persons test themselves early. All cases, whether home-based or institutional are to be supervised by medical personnel. This is particularly  important, given the threat posed by the spiralling rate of infection in countries with which Nigeria has strong political, business, social, and family relations.”

(READ MORE: FG may stop interstate and inter-town travels)

He urged Nigerians to cut off travel to high-risk countries, as the travel rate determines the risk the ministry could contain with.

“There is a correspondingly high volume of travel between Nigeria and those countries, which is what also determines the risk. I also urge all Nigerians to cut off all travels, especially international travels, most especially travels to high risk countries, except it is very urgent.”

He stated that it might take Nigeria a while before securing the vaccines, even though the country had started the process of securing access to a vaccine.

“Although we are positioning our country for access to the Covid-19 vaccine, it may still take a while for countries to access it and for all citizens to be vaccinated. It is, therefore, more realistic that we adopt preventive measures which have proven to be successful in controlling the pandemic,” Ehanire added.

What you should know: Nairametrics reported in October that Dr. Ehanire said Nigeria increased its daily testing capacity for Covid-19 to over 3,500/day.