The Lagos State government has cautioned Nigerians against letting down their guard on the prevention of COVID-19 infections.
The state Health Commissioner Prof Akin Abayomi, said it recorded six COVID-19-related deaths and 519 cases of infection within two days.
The commissioner dropped the hint through his Facebook account @ProfAkinolaAbayomi, yesterday, while giving the state’s COVID-19 update for July 30 and July 31.
He spoke on a day the Federal Government took delivery of four million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the United States (U.S.) to battle a third wave of infections.
The doses, which came on two planes, were received by officials from the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) on behalf of the Federal Government, according to an AFP video reporter at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
Abayomi, who urged Nigerian to keep adhering to recommended safety protocols, said: “I hereby appeal to everyone either in Lagos or neighbouring states that COVID-19 is not yet over.
“We have quite a long way to go and we do not know how many more waves of infections ahead.
“It is therefore, important to continue to adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions and build indigenous capacity to be less vulnerable, but be more resilient to deal with shocks.”
According to him, the elbow greeting should be adhered to as COVID-19 was a contact contagion, stressing that COVID-19 safety protocols should be strictly adhered to as practice of handshaking still poses high risk for transmission of the virus.
The commissioner said that the six additional deaths have increased the state’s COVID-19 mortality to 384.
He said that 519 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed out of the 4,437 tests conducted on July 30 and 31.
“The new infections increased the state’s total COVID-19 infections to 63, 872,” Abayomi said.
He said that there are currently 2,783 active COVID-19 cases in communities being managed under the state’s Home Based Care.
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Abayomi disclosed that the number of patients receiving treatment at the state’s isolation facilities had increased from 128 to 136 persons.
He further said that 56,127 of the infected people had recovered in communities, while 4,399 had recovered in the state’s COVID-19 isolation centres.
The commissioner added that the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the state since inception of the pandemic stood at 607,803.
Abayomi had earlier said that the state was currently under a severe stress and strain of COVID-19 third wave with emergence of between 100 and 300 new cases daily.
He said that isolation facilities were filled up and being overstretched, necessitating creation of more spaces to accommodate patients.
