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Health News of Saturday, 10 July 2021

Source: www.premiumtimesng.com

Coronavirus infections rise in Nigeria after delta variant emerges

Rivers and the Gombe States also reported eight and three cases respectively Rivers and the Gombe States also reported eight and three cases respectively

Two days after the confirmation of the ‘most transmissible’ delta variant of the coronavirus disease in Nigeria, cases are now consistently on the rise again in the country.

According to the statistics released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the country reported 110 cases on Wednesday, 145 on Thursday, and on Friday, 186 cases were reported.

Public health experts are afraid that the delta variant, which was first identified in India in March, could trigger dramatic rises in cases and deaths in Nigeria.

The NCDC described the new development as worrisome.

In an update on its Facebook page Friday night, the centre said Friday’s infection figure raised the total number of cases in the country to 168,442.

Meanwhile, the death toll remains 2,122 as no new fatality was recorded on Friday.

The new cases on Friday were recorded in three states with Lagos State topping the chart by reporting 175 out of the new 186 cases.

Rivers and the Gombe States also reported eight and three cases respectively.

Meanwhile, the NCDC data shows that a total of 164,323 recoveries have been made across the country so far while 1,897 cases are said to be active.

Nigeria has tested 2,331,734 samples for COVID-19 out of the country’s roughly 200 million population.

The delta variant has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the ‘most transmissible variant.’

According to the global body, the variant is responsible for the spike in about 98 countries across the world.

Also known as B.1.617.2, the Delta variant has been linked to 90 per cent of the rise in cases in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA).

It is believed that the variant is somewhat more resistant to COVID-19 vaccines, and may also be associated with a greater risk of hospitalisation.