The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has registered 201 new infections of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
The NCDC made this known via its verified website on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country has conducted about 848,194 tests since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced.
The public health agency said that no death linked to the virus caused by the novel coronavirus was recorded in the country in the last 24 hours.
It noted that the new infections brought the country’s totals to 73,374 confirmed cases of the disease caused by the virus and 1,197 deaths.
The NCDC said 224 COVID-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from isolation centers across the country in the last 24 hours, raising the number of successfully recovered patients to 66,314.
“Our discharges today include 123 community recoveries in Lagos State, managed in line with the guidelines,” it said.
It stated that the newly registered COVID-19 cases were reported across 11 states.
Kaduna State reported the highest number of cases with 74, while Lagos State confirmed 53 cases and Kastina State had 40 cases as Rivers reported 11 cases.
Among other states with new infections were Plateau – 9, Kwara – 6, Bauchi – 2, Ogun – 2, Taraba – 2, Edo -1 and Sokoto – 1.
It said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) activated at Level 3 had continued to coordinate the national response activities.
Meanwhile, the agency has warned against a possible community transmission of the virus with the expected mass return of Nigerians from across the globe to celebrate the festive season at home.
“COVID-19 confirmed cases continue to increase in what appears to be a second wave of the pandemic, which led to a lockdown earlier in the year,” it said.
The health agency lamented the non-compliance to all the COVID -19 protocols.
It advised that this was not the time for Nigerians to relax their guard, noting that the erroneous belief that COVID-19 had been conquered and was no more in Nigeria should be discarded.
The NCDC said the fact that people did not feel at risk anymore and did not comply with COVID-19 procedures was worrisome.
The public health agency noted that physical distancing, hand hygiene and wearing of face masks still remained the best preventive tools against contracting the pandemic.
It said: “The publicity on COVID-19 has been declining, but we need the media to continue to report the pandemic so that Nigerians will know it is still with us.
“People do not feel at risk and do not comply with COVID-19 protocols anymore and it is worrisome.
“Despite the ongoing efforts to produce vaccines, mask wearing, hand washing and physical distancing still remain the three best tools to fight COVID-19 and it is very important to go for testing to prevent the spread.
“At individual level, we must protect ourselves, support one another and follow advice provided by NCDC, Ministry of Health and WHO.
“It is not the time to relax and we must stay at home, if there is no need to travel.
“We are encouraging all sectors to take leadership and design their own guidelines to stem the spread of COVID-19,” it explained.
NAN recalls that from Dec. 6 to Dec. 12, the country’s COVID-19 infections witnessed another significant increase with registered 3,817 new cases, the highest the country had recorded in an over four months.