Nigeria recorded a whopping 930 Covid-19 cases in a single day on Thursday, December 17, 2020, confirming that we have entered the second wave of a pandemic that has gripped the world for much of 2020.
According to data tracked by Nairametrics, On the 16th of December 2020, 930 new confirmed cases were recorded in Nigeria, having carried out a total daily test of 7,125 samples across the country. This tops the 796 confirmed cases reported on December 11, 2020. The highest number of deaths was recorded on June 16, 2020, with 31 deaths.
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COVID-19 Case Updates- 16th December 2020,
- Total Number of Cases – 75,062
- Total Number Discharged – 66,775
- Total Deaths – 1,200
- Total Tests Carried out – 859,357
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To date, 75,062 cases have been confirmed, 66,775 cases have been discharged and 1,200 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 859,357 tests have been carried out as of December 16th, 2020 compared to 848,194 tests a day earlier.
Globally, Covid-19 cases are also on a second wave across the globe with countries like the US, the UK hitting news highs in terms of caseloads and recorded deaths.
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Second Wave
Considering the rising cases in the country, Nigeria appears to have also entered the second wave of the pandemic that has gripped much of the world already. This remains a major concern, as more Nigerians return home for the holiday from countries with high covid-19 cases.
- According to the Nairametrics Covid-19 tracker, caseloads dropped significantly between September and November 2020 leading the government to relax the lockdowns and open the economy. They also briefly closed the isolation center.
- However, due to the increased number of covid-19 cases in Nigeria, the Nigerian government ordered the reopening of Isolation and treatment centers in the country on Thursday, 10th December 2020.
- Since the economy was reopened in September, Nigerians have relaxed on the usage of a facemask in public places such as markets, event centers, restaurants, and bars.
- In some of the locations visited by Nairametrics, while masks are issued by restaurant and bar owners upon entry, visitors to these locations yank them off preferring to go without one.
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Social distancing, an important factor in the early days of the virus has also been jettisoned as more people congregate in public places without adhering to the health requirements.
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Covid-19 Vaccines
Covid-19 Vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech have recently been approved by the United Kingdom and the United States and are now been administered to citizens in the country.
- The US is also likely to approve the Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine on Thursday or Friday.
- The Chinese Sinovac and Russian Novavax vaccines respectively.
- However, these vaccines are unlikely to reach Nigeria and other frontier countries until the second half of 2020.
It is sad that there is an increase, yet our airports are accepting people like no man’s business,how won’t there be a second wave? The government hiked fairs initially due to spacing yet buses are still piled up. I tire for my country. Which way Nigeria???