Half of the country’s latest COVID-19 Delta variant infections is in Akwa Ibom, says the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as the total infection rate hit 178,096.

The NCDC, which made this known via its website on Monday morning, confirmed additional 471 infections. It named Lagos and Akwa Ibom as states “leading the bulk” of the nationwide surge.

The agency said the 471 additional infections were recorded in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Lagos reported the highest infection rate of the day, with 219 new cases. Akwa Ibom had 102 cases. The agency stated that nearly half of the new COVID-19 Delta variant infections nationwide were in Akwa Ibom.

Ondo recorded 37 cases, Oyo (33), Kwara (19), Rivers (16), Ekiti (15), Delta (14), Ogun (7), FCT (5), Niger (2), Edo (1), and Katsina (1).

The NCDC added that 291 people recovered from the virus and were discharged from various isolation centres on Saturday.

The agency explained that 165,763 recoveries had been recorded nationwide in 36 states and the FCT to date. The NCDC further stated that the country had also tested more than 2.5 million samples for the virus out of the country’s 200 million population.

It stated that the country’s COVID-19 average test positivity rate was six per cent. The health agency added that two new deaths were recorded on Saturday, raising the COVID-19 death toll to 2,187.

The NCDC said a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate the national response activities.

Meanwhile, despite the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc globally, the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 has announced the postponement of distribution of the second batch COVID-19 Moderna vaccines doses donated by the U.S.

The exercise was scheduled to begin on August 10 at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja but was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

(NAN)