On the same day Nigeria announced that it would proceed with its planned reopening of schools on January 18, the country recorded 1,479 fresh COVID-19 cases.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), which disclosed this on its Twitter handle, said the new cases were recorded in 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It added that 23 more persons succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 1,405.
The total number of confirmed cases increased to 105,478.
However, with 1,275 fresh recoveries, 83,830 COVID-19 patients have now been discharged from various isolation facilities in the country.
The breakdown of the figure on a state-by-state basis revealed the following: Lagos (697), FCT (201), Nasarawa (80), Plateau (74), Rivers (72), Edo (46), Adamawa (43), Osun (39), Akwa Ibom (35), Delta (31), Anambra (27), Oyo (24), Kano (21), Abia (19), and Enugu (19).
Others are – Ogun (18), Sokoto (12), Bauchi (7), Taraba (7), Ekiti (4), Gombe (4), Imo (4), Bayelsa (2), Jigawa (2), and Zamfara (1).
“Total confirmed COVID-19 cases: 105,478.
“Discharged: 83,830 and Deaths: 1,405.”
With little or no safety measures put in place in schools across the nation, experts and analysts fear a surge in cases in the coming days.
