Thursday, April 25, 2024

We may no longer be able to handle some COVID-19 cases, NCDC Boss Ihekweazu warns

“The virus is spreading fast, causing mild symptoms in some and severe illness/death in others,” he said.

• January 11, 2021
Chikwe Ihekweazu
Director General, NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu [Photo credit: BBC]

The Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu on Monday warned Nigerians to take responsibility and adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols as the number of cases reported daily will soon overwhelm health facilities in the country. 

Mr. Ihekweazu in a series of tweets on Monday urged Nigerians to adhere to safety protocols to curb the spread of the virus. 

“We are reaching a critical level where our hospital capacity will no longer be able to cope with more serious COVID-19 cases and health workers will be forced to make tough decisions,” Mr. Ihekweazu said. “We need to protect our more vulnerable citizens.”

The Nigeria public health agency boss added that the number of coronavirus cases reported in the country has been on the rise in the last four weeks. 

“In the last 4 weeks, we‘ve recorded a spike in the number of new #COVID19 cases,” Mr. Ihekweazu said. “The virus is spreading fast, causing mild symptoms in some and severe illness/death in others.”

Mr. Ihekweazu’s warning comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported in Nigeria crossed the 100,000 mark on Sunday.  

Since Nigeria recorded its index case late February 2020, the number of cases reported has continued to increase, hitting 100,087. 
Over 80,000 persons have been treated and discharged, while 1,358 have died due to the pandemic. 

Globally the number of coronavirus cases reported on Sunday crossed 90million, while over 1.9million deaths have been recorded as a result of the pandemic. 

Countries like the UK and France have embarked on a second lockdown as the second wave of coronavirus continues to ravage the world.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino

Sport

FIFA announces multi-year partnership with Saudi-owned oil company Aramco 

The deal with Saudi Arabia-owned Aramco is in effect until 2027, covering the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and the Women’s World Cup the following year.

JAMB

Heading 5

Again, JAMB extends 2024 direct entry registration

JAMB announced the commencement of the registration for the 2024 direct entry from February 28 to March 28 but extended it by two weeks, ending April 11.

Seyin Makinde

Ibadan

Oyo government declares Friday half-working for LG polls

The statement indicated that the half working day was in connection with the local government elections, scheduled for Saturday.

Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise

Sport

Crystal Palace want £60 million to sell Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise 

Any deal to sign either player will largely depend on them pushing for a move to a bigger club or Palace receiving tempting offers.

Lagos-Calabar highway

States

FG to begin demolition for first 3km of Lagos-Calabar highway Saturday

The 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project is designed to connect Lagos to Cross River.

Harvey Weinstein

Showbiz

New York court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes conviction

The prosecution relied on several additional witnesses who accused Weinstein of sexual assault to show that his offences followed a recurring pattern.