The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, on Thursday, 17th December 2020 announced that 1,145 new confirmed covid-19 cases and 1 death were recorded in Nigeria, taking the total tally to 76,207 confirmed cases and 1,201 deaths, year to date.
This represents the highest number of daily cases recorded since the outbreak. A 23.1% increase compared to the initial record highest 930 cases recorded yesterday.
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The second wave of the pandemic
The recent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases is alarming and a call for immediate action. So far in December, the average monthly cases jumped by 224.6% from an average of 157 cases recorded in November to stand at 509 cases in December
- Compared to an average of 129 cases recorded in October, it has grown by over 294% in December.
- Nairametrics had reported in October, that the spike in new cases suggested a looming second wave of the pandemic. However, it is clear that Nigeria has slipped into the second wave of the pandemic.
- In the past 17 days, Nigeria has recorded 8,652 new cases of the disease, which is 84% higher than the total 4,704 cases recorded in the month of November.
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What you should know
- A survey carried out by Nairametrics Research in September, revealed that Nigerians have abandoned the use of face masks, hand sanitizers, and social distancing practices as they go about their daily businesses.
- According to the report, most traders and artisans believed the virus was no longer a threat considering the reduction in the daily number of cases, while some believed there was no Covid-19 in Nigeria in the first place.
- Recall, that the Nigerian government closed some isolation centres across the country due to the lack of patients and a significant decline in the number of cases.
- The continuous surge in the number of daily cases has prompted the federal government to begin reopening of isolation centres as the number of cases in admission has grown from 3,102 as of 30th December to 7,896 on Thursday, representing 154.5% increase in 17 days.
- The discovery of a Covid-19 vaccine has seen many take the pandemic as a mere sickness that can be easily treated, which has reduced the fear of disease nationwide.
- Stories of reputable footballers and world leaders recovering from the disease has also caused most Nigerians to show laxity towards the precautionary measures against the disease, hence flouting health directives.
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What the data says
Nigeria currently stands 9th on the list of African Countries with the highest cases of Covid-19 with South Africa leading at 892,813 cases year to date.
- One would think that Nigeria is lucky from the outrage of the pandemic. However, information gathered by Nairalytics research showed that Nigeria’s number of tests in relation to our population is below expectation.
- According to the NCDC, the total tests carried out in Nigeria is 864,104 as of 17th December 2020, standing sixth on the African list behind Kenya (991.4 thousand) and Egypt (1 million).
- Notably, in terms of tests per 1 million population, Nigeria stands at 44th position with just an average of 4,145 tests nationwide.
- This is a clear indication of inadequacies in the number of tests carried out in the country, which could affect the Nation from seeing the clear picture.
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What this Covid-19 surge means
A second wave of the pandemic could push Nigeria into another round of lockdown, which would propel a range of chain reactions.
- Affecting the nation’s recovery process from the economic recession
- An already escalated inflation rate at 14.89% could only get worse.
- Fear and unrest, amongst the Nigerian populace, leading to chaos.
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Upshot
The only way to fight against the pandemic is for every member of the Nigerian community to see it as an immediate threat that requires immediate and continuous action, by taking adequate precautions and practice good health hygiene.
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In my opinion, the poor testing capacity of Nigeria implies that the actual number of cases may be in multiples of the number of reported cases. I agree that people can do better in terms of hygiene and protective clothing etc. But who would blame them when more and more families are struggling with worsening economic hardships which they see as the greater threat than covid-19. No thanks to the timing and rationale behind the 100% hike in electricity tariff etc.