11, 2020, by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, showing the
nation’s COVID-19 statistics.
COVID-19 cases in Nigeria rose further on
Tuesday, inching towards the 50,000 mark after the country
confirmed 423 new cases.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, which
announces national figures, revealed that the new cases were spread
across 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
They take the country’s total number of cases to 47,290. Out of
the number, 33,609 patients have been discharged, while 956 people
have lost their lives.
On Tuesday, Lagos, the country’s pandemic epicentre,
witnessed 117 new cases followed by the FCT with 40 cases, while
Ondo and Rivers states recorded 35 and 28 cases respectively.
Osun State witnessed 24 more cases, Benue – 21, Abia – 19, Ogun
– 19, Ebonyi – 18, Delta and Kwara – 17 each, while Kaduna and
Anambra recorded 15 and 14 cases respectively.
Other states with new cases are Ekiti – 11, Kano – 9, Imo – 6,
Gombe – 4, Oyo – 3, Bauchi – 1, Edo – 1, Nasarawa – 1.
423 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;
Lagos-117 FCT-40 Ondo-35 Rivers-28 Osun-24 Benue-21 Abia-19
Ogun-19 Ebonyi-18 Delta-17 Kwara-17 Kaduna-15 Anambra-14 Ekiti-11
Kano-9 Imo-6 Gombe-4 Oyo-3 Taraba-3 Bauchi-1 Edo-1 Nasarawa-147,290 confirmed 33,609 discharged 956 deaths
pic.twitter.com/Egb3RB9pbk— NCDC (@NCDCgov) August 11, 2020
Reduction In New Cases?
Tuesday’s numbers continue a run of lower new case numbers in
the country. In August, new case numbers have averaged below 500
unlike the situation in June and July when the daily average was
over 500 with 745 cases recorded on June 18.
But many believe the low numbers are down to low testing in the
country. Only 319,851 COVID-19 tests had been conducted in Nigeria
as of August 11, compared to more than three million tests in South
Africa, which has more than 500,000 confirmed cases.
Referring to the decline in daily numbers on Monday, the
Nigerian government warned that they should not be misinterpreted
as the country had not reached the peak of the pandemic.
“The low test/ case confirmation numbers coming out daily should
not be misinterpreted to mean that we have overcome. We have over
time ramped up testing but more needs to be done to raise the
quantum of test per million,” the Chairman of the Presidential Task
Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, said.
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data from the PTF highlighting the concentration of cases by states
and local government areas.
Ventilators from US
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s battle against the pandemic received a
boost on Tuesday as the United States government handed over 200
ventilators to the country.
The items were presented on Tuesday by the U.S Ambassador to
Nigeria, Mary Bert Leonard, in the nation’s capital.
Leonard, hands over the 200 ventilators donated by the U.S
government to Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Osaige Ehanire, in
Abuja on August 11, 2020.
Leonard said the gesture, which fulfils a promise made by US
President Donald Trump, reflected a robust diplomatic relationship
which both countries have sustained for over 50 years.
She also applauded the Federal Government’s response to the
pandemic, assuring Nigeria of the continued support of the United
States.
“Nigeria is now one of just two countries in Africa to have an
Oxygen Roadmap that seeks to fight against Harmonia, Hyposmia and
now COVID-19.
“While we all continue to face unprecedented challenges as a
result of COVID-19, I will like to laud Nigeria’s efforts in taking
early action to combat and ameliorate this spread,” she said.
Confirmed Cases by State
| States Affected | No. of Cases (Lab Confirmed) | No. of Cases (on admission) | No. Discharged | No. of Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lagos | 16,074 | 2,751 | 13,128 | 195 |
| FCT | 4,525 | 3,172 | 1,307 | 46 |
| Oyo | 2,890 | 1,436 | 1,423 | 31 |
| Edo | 2,399 | 178 | 2,121 | 100 |
| Rivers | 1,972 | 196 | 1,721 | 55 |
| Kano | 1,643 | 276 | 1,313 | 54 |
| Kaduna | 1,628 | 207 | 1,409 | 12 |
| Delta | 1,613 | 139 | 1,430 | 44 |
| Plateau | 1,584 | 899 | 662 | 23 |
| Ogun | 1,497 | 210 | 1,263 | 24 |
| Ondo | 1,324 | 529 | 767 | 28 |
| Enugu | 914 | 395 | 500 | 19 |
| Ebonyi | 888 | 69 | 793 | 26 |
| Kwara | 882 | 311 | 549 | 22 |
| Katsina | 746 | 265 | 457 | 24 |
| Borno | 690 | 78 | 576 | 36 |
| Abia | 663 | 141 | 517 | 5 |
| Osun | 652 | 298 | 341 | 13 |
| Gombe | 635 | 50 | 562 | 23 |
| Bauchi | 578 | 34 | 530 | 14 |
| Imo | 485 | 314 | 161 | 10 |
| Benue | 430 | 282 | 139 | 9 |
| Nasarawa | 371 | 140 | 223 | 8 |
| Bayelsa | 346 | 14 | 311 | 21 |
| Jigawa | 322 | 3 | 308 | 11 |
| Akwa Ibom | 235 | 30 | 197 | 8 |
| Niger | 226 | 49 | 165 | 12 |
| Ekiti | 193 | 112 | 79 | 2 |
| Adamawa | 185 | 83 | 90 | 12 |
| Anambra | 156 | 19 | 119 | 18 |
| Sokoto | 154 | 0 | 138 | 16 |
| Kebbi | 90 | 0 | 82 | 8 |
| Taraba | 78 | 19 | 55 | 4 |
| Zamfara | 77 | 1 | 71 | 5 |
| Cross River | 73 | 23 | 42 | 8 |
| Yobe | 67 | 2 | 57 | 8 |
| Kogi | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Abdullahi
NITDA Sharpens ICT Skills of Creative Kids for
Self-Development
The Director General (DG) of the National Information Technology
Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa, has advised
participants of the ‘Creative Kids Online Training Programme’ to
improve and sharpen their Information and Technology (IT)
skills.
According to him, doing so will tremendously contribute to the
socio-economic development of the country.
Mal. Inuwa, meanwhile, has assured all the trainees of the
Creative Kids online programme of the agency’s support, to further
develop their IT skills.
The DG, who was represented by Dr. Usman Gambo Abdullahi,
Director of IT Infrastructure Solutions, spoke at the graduation
ceremony of the online training.
He said what the children have learnt and accomplished in their
training shows what they can achieve in the nearest future,
especially in the field of global ICT.
He explained that there was a need for the children to keep
improving on the skills they have learnt, urging them to harness
such skills for the socio-economic development of the country.
“We have to ensure that our children learn. Because we cannot
afford, as a country, to be left behind in technology,” he
said.
Continuing, Inuwa added: “We have highly-talented individuals,
especially in the area of information technology. By showing
sustained interest in this field, you are not only going to be
improving yourself, you can also become problem solvers, inventors,
and innovators, who will create job opportunities and equally
contribute your quota in realizing a smarter Nigeria.
“The opportunities it offers are limitless. Look at the global
impact of Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, as
a result of their interest in technology. In Nigeria, we have
Mitchell Elegbe, Sim Shagaya, and Tayo Oviosu, to mention a few,
who are doing phenomenal things with technology”.
The NITDA Boss, while congratulating the organisers of the
training, appreciated 3logy for training the kids to acquire and
develop digital literacy skills, especially in emerging
technologies.
He said: “The federal government has made a strong policy
commitment to making Nigeria a ‘Smart Nigeria’ by the year 2030.
And one of the pillars to actualizing that is through the
acquisition of “digital literacy and skills”.
“As a nation, it is important that we have a younger generation
that is equipped with adequate digital skills, that will enable
them compete favorably in today’s digital age.”
Earlier, moderator of the ceremony, Mrs. Rahinat Muhammad, said
the children were full of potentials and needed to have memorable
experiences in acquiring requisite ICT skills, so as to become the
country’s future IT wizards.
Among the children participants were: Aliyu Bashir Gwandu, who
won the ‘Most Determined Participant’ award; Amina and Abubakar
Maida, received the ‘Most Punctual Participants’ award; while
Labeeb Muhammad won the ‘Most Well-Behaved Participant’ award.
In the four-week long training, the children were introduced to
robotics, the popular new Python programming for beginners, and
some other emerging information technologies.