Nigeria has recorded 595 new cases of COVID-19
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) made this known on its official twitter handle on Thursday night.
According to the NCDC, as at July 16, 595 new confirmed cases and nine deaths were recorded in the country.
It stated that 34,854 cases have been confirmed, 14,292 cases have been discharged and 769 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The health agency said that the 595 new cases were reported from 24 states, Lagos (156), Ondo (95), Rivers (53), Abia (43), Oyo (38), Enugu (29), Edo (24), FCT (23) and Kaduna (20).
Others were Akwa Ibom (17), Anambra (17), Osun (17), Ogun (14), Kano (13), Imo (11), Delta (6), Ekiti (5), Gombe (4), Plateau (4), Cross River (2), Adamawa (1), Bauchi (1), Jigawa (1), and Yobe (1).
“Countries in the world, including the most liberal in Europe, are now making masks mandatory for people who use public transport and even outdoors and they are imposing a fine for non-compliance.
“It is therefore still important, for us not to give up, but to continue to practice these measures, especially using facemasks, physical distancing and imbibing social courtesies like not sneezing or coughing into open space, but into a tissue.
“It does not help for anyone to continue to deny the presence of COVID-19 in our communities, or to test its virulence by engaging in risky behavior.
“The consequences can be dire.
“It is also important to state for clarity that masks must cover the mouth and nose, that a mask pushed under the chin is not effective and should not be under the chin for any reason.
”That we need the mask most, when we are speaking, and it should therefore not be removed to speak, that wearing a face shield alone has not been proven to offer the same protection as a mask and should either be combined with a mask or totally left to healthcare providers, for whom they were actually intended,” NCDC said.
