The Nigeria Centre for Disease and Prevention Control (NCDC) has raised the alarm over 880 additional COVID-19 infections reported in Nigeria from July 2 to 8, with no fatalities.

On its official website on Saturday afternoon, NCDC said that the country’s commercial capital city, Lagos State, is driving the nation’s latest COVID-19 surge.

Lagos, the epicentre of the virus, accounted for more than 90 per cent of the new infections, with 750 cases.

The data showed that the new cases had raised Nigeria’s infection toll to 258,517, while the fatality toll stood at 3,144.

The public health agency stated that about 4,206 people were still down with the virus, while a total of 250,388 people have been successfully treated and discharged so far in the country since the outbreak in February 2020.

Apart from Lagos, a further breakdown of the latest cases showed that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded 45 cases, followed by Rivers with 40 infections.

Delta reported 11 cases, followed by Akwa Ibom-11, Kano-five, Nasarawa-four and Plateau one.

The agency said that three states, Abia, Kaduna, and Sokoto, reported no cases within the time frame.

The NCDC said it was based on the prevailing risk from the virus and the need for religious organisations, community leaders, and Nigerians, in general, to take necessary precautions during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

It added that the number of weekly COVID-19 cases had increased globally for the third consecutive week.

The agency said that COVID-19 might cause severe complications in the elderly and people with underlying medical conditions.

“We serve even as we battle concurrent public health threats – COVID-19, monkeypox, Cholera, etc. Our interest is not in delivering bad news but in equipping citizens with the information they need to stay safe,” it added.

(NAN)